Israeli police, Palestinians clash at Al-Aqsa compound

New clashes broke out yesterday between Palestinians and Israeli police who stormed Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, as an expected increase in Jewish visitors to the site over the Sukkot holiday boosted tensions.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades while young protesters who had pledged a day earlier to "defend" Al-Aqsa threw stones before barricading themselves inside the mosque itself, an AFP journalist said.

According to police, the young protesters had slept overnight at the mosque and also threw petrol bombs at security forces during the clashes which caused a small fire at the entrance to the building.

Sources with the Jordanian-run organisation that administers the site, the Waqf, told AFP that police stun grenades provoked four fires inside the building that were brought under control.

Muslim worshippers who were at the compound after morning prayers as the raid began were forced to leave by police and all gates used by Muslims to enter the site were closed. Some remained near the gates and chanted in protest.

Regular visits by non-Muslims permitted between 7:30 am and 11:00 am were then allowed to go ahead, according to police.

The compound has been the scene of repeated clashes in recent weeks, provoking international calls for calm. The highly sensitive site is the third holiest in Islam but is also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, the most sacred in Judaism.

Recent weeks have seen a series of Jewish holidays which have led to an increase in visits by Jews that have sparked clashes. The same situation is feared over Sukkot, an eight-day religious feast that began on Sunday night.

Jews are allowed to visit the site, but cannot pray there to avoid provoking tensions. Muslims fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the compound, which is located in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.