Israeli police also said they had arrested 12 Palestinians overnight in east Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa compound is located, including several in connection with the clashes at the site.
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The site of the clashes, a hilltop compound in Jerusalem’s Old City that is revered by Jews and Muslims, is a frequent flashpoint of violence. Israel’s chief rabbis, as well as the rabbi of the Western Wall, have issued directives urging people not to ascend the Temple Mount – arguing that Jews could inadvertently enter the holiest area of the once-standing temple, where it was forbidden to tread.
Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said clashes continued and tensions “are high” as far-right Jewish groups prepare to enter the mosque compound.
At the time, Israel’s United Nations representative Ron Prosor said the move was a “blatant attempt to hijack the UN”, insisting that the only way Palestinians could achieve statehood was through direct negotiations.
Monday’s unrest was the second straight day of violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque, where Palestinians have been stockpiling rocks and other projectiles to attack Israeli troops.
“It is in occupied territory and Palestinians have a right to defend their places of worship”.
There have been fresh clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.
Tensions were further exacerbated on the Temple Mount earlier on Monday when Arab Member of Knesset Jamal Zahalka visited the site.
Clashes occurred over three consecutive days between rioters and police, provoking global calls for calm at the highly sensitive site.
There is also a lack of trust between the two sides with the formation of one of Israel’s most right-wing governments in its history after the March vote, and Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank has continued.
He also noted with concerns allegations of excessive use of force against protesters by Palestinian security forces in Bethlehem on Friday, and welcomed the decision by the Palestinian Authority to set up an investigative committee into the conduct of police during this demonstration.
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The findings came after an 18-year-old Palestinian woman was shot by an IDF soldier at a checkpoint in Hebron – a city divided between Palestinian and Israeli control. The baby’s father, Sa’ad Dawabsheh, died of his wounds at an Israeli hospital about a week later, while his mother, Riham, 27, died of her wounds over a month after the incident. That moment arrived when Israel launched its war of 1967 (known to Palestinians as the “Naksa” or “Setback”), seizing East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, thus sealing the fate of the whole of historic Palestine.
