At least 152 Palestinians were injured on Friday in clashes with Israel police inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, in the latest outbreak of violence that has stoked fears of another conflict.

Israeli police and Palestinians clash

Israeli police and Palestinians clash

Most of the injuries among Palestinian protesters were caused by rubber bullets, stun grenades and beatings with police batons, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Israeli security forces have been on high alert after a series of attacks by people of Arab origin on the streets in various parts of the country over the past two weeks.

The clashes at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old Walled City pose the threat of a more serious episode, like the Gaza war that took place last year.

The Al-Aqsa complex sits on the plateau of East Jerusalem’s Old City, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, and is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or El Noble Sanctuary , and by the Jews as the Temple Mount .

In a statement, Israeli police said hundreds of Palestinians hurled firecrackers and stones at their forces and towards the nearby Jewish prayer area of ​​the Western Wall in the Old City after Ramadan morning prayers.

It added that police then entered the Al-Aqsa compound to “disperse and push back (the crowd and) allow the rest of the worshipers to leave the venue safely”, adding that three officers were injured in the clashes.

Police detained hundreds of Palestinians, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a tweet .

“We are working to restore calm, on the Temple Mount and throughout Israel. On top of that, we are preparing for any scenario and the security forces are ready for any task,” Bennett said.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, referring to the violence in the holy compound, said the episode “makes Israel fully and directly responsible for this crime and its consequences.”

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