JERUSALEM (JTA) — Masked Palestinian youths threw stones and bricks and set off firecrackers at Israeli police officers on the Temple Mount.
The riots broke out as the site holy to Jews and Muslims was opened to visitors on Wednesday morning, on the eve of the Jewish New Year.
The youths set up blockades at the entrance to the Al-Aksa Mosque while attacking police guarding the Mughrabi Gate, where non-Muslims enter the compound, according to reports.
Four police officers were injured in the attacks.
Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the rioters, who retreated into the mosque, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported. Israeli officers chained the doors of the mosque shut with the protesters inside, Maan reported, citing witnesses. Fifteen Palestinian rioters were injured by rubber bullets, according to Maan.
Visitors continued to enter the site. Israel’s minister of housing, Uri Ariel of the right-wing Jewish Home party, visited the site on Wednesday morning.
Restrictions on entering the site for Muslims will be in place during Rosh Hashanah due to fears of rioting, including prohibiting youth from entering.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
