Israel police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM - Agence France-Presse

Palestinian Muslim cleric reacts after Israeli security forces threw a tear gas canister towards protesters on April 4. AFP Photo

Palestinians and Israeli police clashed at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday but there were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
     
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that violence erupted when police opened one of the walled compound's gates to non-Muslim visitors, according to the regular visiting hours.
      
"Stones and a number of Molotov cocktails were thrown at police," he told AFP.
      
"Police responded by using stun grenades and entered the Temple Mount area," he added, using the Jewish term for the site where tradition says the biblical Jewish temples once stood.
      
It is revered as Judaism's holiest place.
      
The plaza houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Islam.        

Although non-Muslim visitors are permitted, Jews are not allowed to pray at the site.
      
Rosenfeld could not say if Jews were among those seeking to visit on Sunday.