Israeli police stand on a rooftop near Al-Aqsa mosque. (Getty)

Clashes mar holy days as Israeli police enter flashpoint Jerusalem mosque

Jerusalem: Israeli police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a sensitive Jerusalem holy site, two days after clashes with Palestinians.

The police cleared Palestinians out of the sprawling esplanade outside the mosque itself early on Sunday, Jerusalem time, while dozens of Palestinians remained inside the building chanting “God is Greatest”.

The police said they entered to facilitate the routine visit of Jews to the holy site. They said Palestinians had stockpiled stones and set up barriers in anticipation of violence. The police said they were committed to facilitating freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims.

The site is the third holiest in Islam and the holiest for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It has long been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Clashes erupted at the site before dawn on Friday after police said Palestinians had hurled stones toward the Western Wall, an adjacent Jewish holy site. Police entered in force and clashed with dozens of Palestinians shortly after dawn prayers.

The hilltop compound is in Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. This year, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Christian holy week culminating in Easter Sunday and the weeklong Jewish Passover are all celebrated at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the city after coronavirus restrictions have been mostly lifted.

Read the article by Joseph Krauss in The Sydney Morning Herald.