Israeli police fired sound grenades to disperse Palestinians during confrontations on Sunday outside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque where tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Adha holiday, witnesses said.

A Palestinian ambulance service said that at least 14 Palestinians were taken to hospitals for treatment. Israel's Kan public radio said four police officers were injured.

Facing off with police in the packed compound outside Islam's third-holiest site, Palestinians chanted "With our soul and blood we will redeem you, Aqsa".

Scuffles ensued and the crowd fled as the sound grenades exploded and smoke wafted through the compound, witnesses said.

In a statement, police said they had deployed forces at the site in anticipation of disturbances and "dispersed rioters".

Revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, the area is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tensions had mounted at the start of Eid al-Adha as the holiday overlapped this year with Tisha B'Av, a Jewish fast day marking the destruction of the two temples.

In a bid to avoid friction at the site, police barred the entry of non-Muslim visitors, including Jews who intended to make a Tisha B'Av pilgrimage, before the clashes erupted.

The compound is situated in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not won international recognition. </s> JERUSALEM: Israeli police fired sound grenades to disperse Palestinians during confrontations on Sunday outside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque where tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Adha holiday, witnesses said.

A Palestinian ambulance service said that at least 14 Palestinians were taken to hospitals for treatment. Israel's Kan public radio said four police officers were injured.

Facing off with police in the packed compound outside Islam's third-holiest site, Palestinians chanted "With our soul and blood we will redeem you, Aqsa".

Scuffles ensued and the crowd fled as the sound grenades exploded and smoke wafted through the compound, witnesses said.

Revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, the area is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tensions had mounted at the flashpoint complex at the start of Eid al-Adha as the holiday overlapped this year with the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av, amid calls by Jewish nationalist and religious politicians for Jews to visit the holy compound.

In a statement, police said they had deployed forces at the site in anticipation of disturbances and "dispersed rioters". It put the number of Muslim worshippers at the site at some 60,000.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, accused Israel of provoking religious and political tension.

"The storming of al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli occupation forces this Eid morning is an act of recklessness and aggression," she said in a statement.

The compound is situated in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not been recognised internationally.

In an effort to avoid friction at the site, police barred the entry of non-Muslim visitors, including Jews, before the clashes erupted.

After the confrontations died down, Jerusalem District Police Chief Doron Yedid said on Kan radio that he had lifted the ban. Jewish visitors then entered the area under heavy police guard and no serious violence was reported.

Eid al-Adha commemorates God's testing of Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son. Tisha B'Av marks the destruction of the two temples. </s> JERUSALEM — Muslim worshippers and Israeli police clashed Sunday at a major Jerusalem holy site during prayers marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Palestinian medics said at least 14 people were wounded, one seriously, in the skirmishes with police at the site, which Muslims refer to as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. Police said at least four officers were wounded. Witnesses said at least two people were arrested.

Clouds of tear gas swirled and stun grenades thundered across the stone-paved esplanade as masses of worshippers skirmished with police in the worst bout of fighting at the contested holy site in months.

The clashes came amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, just days after an Israeli soldier was killed south of Jerusalem. On Saturday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants who attempted to cross the Gaza border fence.

Tens of thousands of Muslims had flocked to the site in Jerusalem's Old City early Sunday for holiday prayers, police said. Jews are also observing on Sunday the Ninth of Av, a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the two Biblical temples which stood at the site in antiquity.

The site is the holiest for Jews and the third holiest for Muslims, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, and has long been a flashpoint at the epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jordan, which serves as the custodian of the holy site, said in a statement that it had sent a formal complaint to Israel and condemned what it called Israel's "irresponsible provocations." Sufian al-Qudah, a spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, said Amman holds Israel completely responsible for the violence.

Large numbers of Palestinians had gathered at the gates of the compound early Sunday after rumors circulated that police would allow Jewish visitors to enter the site. The protesters chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and threw stones at police, who then charged into the compound while firing stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets.

Israeli police had initially barred entry to Jewish visitors, but reversed their decision after the clashes broke out and allowed them to enter. Several dozen entered the site under close police escort and Muslim worshippers began throwing chairs and other objects at the group. The Jewish visitors left the compound shortly thereafter.

Jerusalem District police commander Doron Yedid told Israeli media that the decision to allow Jewish visitors to enter the site was made "with the backing of the top political officials." Police spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

The reversal came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious nationalist allies called for the site to be opened to Jewish visitors. Israelis are headed to unprecedented repeat elections next month after Netanyahu failed to form a government following April's elections.

Jews are barred from praying at the compound under a longstanding arrangement between Israel and Muslim authorities. Jewish tradition also maintains that Jews should avoid entering the holy site.

But in recent years Israeli religious nationalists have stepped up visits to the site to challenge the arrangement. Jewish extremists have called for destroying the mosque and rebuilding the Biblical temple.

The Palestinians view such visits as provocations, and have long feared that Israel intends to take over the site or partition it. The Israeli government has repeatedly said it has no intention of changing the status quo.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior leader in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel was "fueling religious tensions in Jerusalem," adding that Israeli officials are "fully responsible for its grave consequences."

The compound is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories the Palestinians seek as part of a future state. Israel views all of Jerusalem as its unified capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have spiked following President Donald Trump's decision in 2017 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. Embassy there. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been moribund for at least a decade, and the Palestinians have cut ties with the Trump administration over what they see as its unfair bias toward Israel.

In a separate incident on Sunday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian gunman after he opened fire on them from across the perimeter fence around the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said an "armed terrorist" approached the frontier early Sunday and opened fire toward troops on the other side, who responded by shooting at the attacker. The army said a tank also targeted a nearby military post operated by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza identified the deceased as 26-year-old Marwan Nasser. It was not clear if he was a member of an armed group, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Saturday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants who the army said had tried to carry out a cross-border attack. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, said the attack was an "individual act" carried out by youths frustrated at the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza and was not planned by the group. </s> (JERUSALEM) — Muslim worshippers and Israeli police clashed Sunday at a major Jerusalem holy site during prayers marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Palestinian medics said at least 14 people were wounded, one seriously, in the skirmishes with police at the site, which Muslims refer to as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. Police said at least four officers were wounded. Witnesses said at least two people were arrested.

Clouds of tear gas swirled and stun grenades thundered across the stone-paved esplanade as masses of worshippers skirmished with police in the worst bout of fighting at the contested holy site in months.

The clashes came amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, just days after an Israeli soldier was killed south of Jerusalem. On Saturday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants who attempted to cross the Gaza border fence.

Tens of thousands of Muslims had flocked to the site in Jerusalem’s Old City early Sunday for holiday prayers, police said. Jews are also observing on Sunday the Ninth of Av, a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the two Biblical temples which stood at the site in antiquity.

The site is the holiest for Jews and the third holiest for Muslims, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, and has long been a flashpoint at the epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jordan, which serves as the custodian of the holy site, said in a statement that it had sent a formal complaint to Israel and condemned what it called Israel’s “irresponsible provocations.” Sufian al-Qudah, a spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, said Amman holds Israel completely responsible for the violence.

Large numbers of Palestinians had gathered at the gates of the compound early Sunday after rumors circulated that police would allow Jewish visitors to enter the site. The protesters chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and threw stones at police, who then charged into the compound while firing stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets.

Israeli police had initially barred entry to Jewish visitors, but reversed their decision after the clashes broke out and allowed them to enter. Several dozen entered the site under close police escort and Muslim worshippers began throwing chairs and other objects at the group. The Jewish visitors left the compound shortly thereafter.

Jerusalem District police commander Doron Yedid told Israeli media that the decision to allow Jewish visitors to enter the site was made “with the backing of the top political officials.” Police spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

The reversal came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious nationalist allies called for the site to be opened to Jewish visitors. Israelis are headed to unprecedented repeat elections next month after Netanyahu failed to form a government following April’s elections.

Jews are barred from praying at the compound under a longstanding arrangement between Israel and Muslim authorities. Jewish tradition also maintains that Jews should avoid entering the holy site.

But in recent years Israeli religious nationalists have stepped up visits to the site to challenge the arrangement. Jewish extremists have called for destroying the mosque and rebuilding the Biblical temple.

The Palestinians view such visits as provocations, and have long feared that Israel intends to take over the site or partition it. The Israeli government has repeatedly said it has no intention of changing the status quo.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior leader in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel was “fueling religious tensions in Jerusalem,” adding that Israeli officials are “fully responsible for its grave consequences.”

The compound is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories the Palestinians seek as part of a future state. Israel views all of Jerusalem as its unified capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have spiked following President Donald Trump’s decision in 2017 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy there. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been moribund for at least a decade, and the Palestinians have cut ties with the Trump administration over what they see as its unfair bias toward Israel.

In a separate incident on Sunday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian gunman after he opened fire on them from across the perimeter fence around the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said an “armed terrorist” approached the frontier early Sunday and opened fire toward troops on the other side, who responded by shooting at the attacker. The army said a tank also targeted a nearby military post operated by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza identified the deceased as 26-year-old Marwan Nasser. It was not clear if he was a member of an armed group, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Saturday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants who the army said had tried to carry out a cross-border attack. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, said the attack was an “individual act” carried out by youths frustrated at the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza and was not planned by the group. </s> JERUSALEM (AP) — Muslim worshippers and Israeli police clashed Sunday at a major Jerusalem holy site during prayers marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Palestinian medics said at least 14 people were wounded, one seriously, in the skirmishes with police at the site, which Muslims refer to as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. Police said at least four officers were wounded. Witnesses said at least two people were arrested.

Clouds of tear gas swirled and stun grenades thundered across the stone-paved esplanade as masses of worshippers skirmished with police in the worst bout of fighting at the contested holy site in months.

The clashes came amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, just days after an Israeli soldier was killed south of Jerusalem. On Saturday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants who attempted to cross the Gaza border fence.

Tens of thousands of Muslims had flocked to the site in Jerusalem’s Old City early Sunday for holiday prayers, police said. Jews are also observing on Sunday the Ninth of Av, a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the two Biblical temples which stood at the site in antiquity.

The site is the holiest for Jews and the third holiest for Muslims, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, and has long been a flashpoint at the epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jordan, which serves as the custodian of the holy site, said in a statement that it had sent a formal complaint to Israel and condemned what it called Israel’s “irresponsible provocations.” Sufian al-Qudah, a spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, said Amman holds Israel completely responsible for the violence.

Large numbers of Palestinians had gathered at the gates of the compound early Sunday after rumors circulated that police would allow Jewish visitors to enter the site. The protesters chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and threw stones at police, who then charged into the compound while firing stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets.

Israeli police had initially barred entry to Jewish visitors, but reversed their decision after the clashes broke out and allowed them to enter. Several dozen entered the site under close police escort and Muslim worshippers began throwing chairs and other objects at the group. The Jewish visitors left the compound shortly thereafter.

Jerusalem District police commander Doron Yedid told Israeli media that the decision to allow Jewish visitors to enter the site was made “with the backing of the top political officials.” Police spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

The reversal came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious nationalist allies called for the site to be opened to Jewish visitors. Israelis are headed to unprecedented repeat elections next month after Netanyahu failed to form a government following April’s elections.

Jews are barred from praying at the compound under a longstanding arrangement between Israel and Muslim authorities. Jewish tradition also maintains that Jews should avoid entering the holy site.

But in recent years Israeli religious nationalists have stepped up visits to the site to challenge the arrangement. Jewish extremists have called for destroying the mosque and rebuilding the Biblical temple.

The Palestinians view such visits as provocations, and have long feared that Israel intends to take over the site or partition it. The Israeli government has repeatedly said it has no intention of changing the status quo.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior leader in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel was “fueling religious tensions in Jerusalem,” adding that Israeli officials are “fully responsible for its grave consequences.”

The compound is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories the Palestinians seek as part of a future state. Israel views all of Jerusalem as its unified capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have spiked following President Donald Trump’s decision in 2017 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy there. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been moribund for at least a decade, and the Palestinians have cut ties with the Trump administration over what they see as its unfair bias toward Israel.

In a separate incident on Sunday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian gunman after he opened fire on them from across the perimeter fence around the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said an “armed terrorist” approached the frontier early Sunday and opened fire toward troops on the other side, who responded by shooting at the attacker. The army said a tank also targeted a nearby military post operated by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza identified the deceased as 26-year-old Marwan Nasser. It was not clear if he was a member of an armed group, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Saturday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants who the army said had tried to carry out a cross-border attack. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, said the attack was an “individual act” carried out by youths frustrated at the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza and was not planned by the group. </s> (4th UPDATE) The move comes after intensive international diplomacy seeking to stop the outbreak of wider unrest, with warnings that it could spread far beyond Israel and the Palestinian territories

JERUSALEM (4th UPDATE) – Israel removed metal detectors from a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site Tuesday, July 25, after their installation triggered deadly violence, but Muslim worshippers suspicious over what would come next kept up a boycott.

Israel's move came in the face of intensive international diplomacy seeking to prevent the dispute over the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, from sparking wider Palestinian unrest.

The government said it would introduce subtler measures instead to secure the compound housing the revered Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, following a July 14 deadly attack on Israeli police nearby.

A work crew removed the metal detectors from one entrance to the compound early Tuesday, and cameras installed on overhead scaffolding in recent days were also gone.

But suspicions over what the new measures would entail resulted in the boycott continuing.

Several hundred worshippers prayed outside the gates in the streets in the summer heat, as they have done since the metal detectors were installed more than a week ago.

"What we want and what we demand is for everything to return how it was before July 14," said Mohammed Hijazi, who came several days ago from Acre in northern Israel to join the protests.

"When that happens we are ready to return to enter the Al-Aqsa mosque to pray to God Almighty."

Israel's security cabinet announced the decision to remove the detectors early on Tuesday.

They decided "to change the inspection with metal detectors to a security inspection based on advanced technologies and other means," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

Details of the advanced technologies envisaged were not immediately clear.

A statement from the Waqf, the Islamic endowments organisation which administers the compound, said there should be "no entry into Al-Aqsa mosque until after an assessment by a Waqf technical committee and the return of the situation to how it was before the 14th of this month".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged all Muslims to visit Jerusalem to protect the holy places.

"Anyone who has the opportunity should visit Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa mosque," Erdogan said in Ankara. "Come, let's all protect Jerusalem."

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who froze contacts with Israel over the dispute last week, was expected to make a statement later Tuesday.

Israel installed metal detectors at entrances to the compound after the July 14 attack nearby killed two policemen.

Palestinians viewed the new security measures as Israel asserting further control over the site and refused to enter the compound.

Israeli authorities said the detectors were needed because the attackers smuggled guns into the compound and emerged from it to shoot the officers.

The decision to remove the detectors followed talks between Netanyahu and Jordan's King Abdullah II, who demanded that they be taken away.

Jordan is the official custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem and is one of only two Arab governments to have signed a peace treaty with Israel.

It also came after one of US President Donald Trump's top aides, Jason Greenblatt, arrived in Israel for talks on the crisis and with UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov warning of the risks of escalation.

A separate diplomatic standoff between Israel and Jordan may have helped push negotiations on the metal detectors along.

On Sunday night in Amman, an Israeli embassy security guard shot dead a Jordanian who attacked him with a screwdriver, according to Israeli officials.

A second Jordanian was also killed, apparently by accident.

Israel had insisted the security guard had diplomatic immunity and rejected Jordanian demands to question him.

But on Monday night, the guard and other diplomats arrived home after a deal also involving the mosque compound.

"Amman authorised the Israeli diplomat to leave the country after hearing his account of the incident... and after reaching an understanding with the (Israeli) government on Al-Aqsa," a Jordanian government source said.

On Tuesday, thousands of Jordanians chanted "Death to Israel" at the funeral of the 17-year-old said to have attacked the guard.

"Mohammed's blood did not flow in vain," Jawawdeh's uncle Sami said, arguing it paved the way for Israel's removal of the metal detectors.

Friday's main weekly Muslim prayers in Jerusalem – which typically draw thousands to Al-Aqsa – had brought the dispute to a boil.

Clashes erupted between Israeli security forces and Palestinians around the Old City, elsewhere in annexed east Jerusalem and in the occupied West Bank, leaving three Palestinians dead.

They continued on Saturday, leaving two more Palestinians dead.

Friday evening also saw a Palestinian break into a home in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank during a Sabbath dinner and stab four Israelis, killing three.

The mosque compound has served as a rallying cry for Palestinians.

In 2000, a visit to it by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon helped ignite the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

The compound lies in east Jerusalem, seized by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

Considered the third-holiest site in Islam, it is the most sacred for Jews. – Rappler.com </s> TEL AVIV — Two Israeli Border Police Officers were murdered and a third was wounded on Friday when three Palestinian terrorists opened fire at security forces near an entrance to the Temple Mount and fled onto the mount complex.

The Palestinian assailants, reportedly carrying two rifles and a pistol, were pursued by Israeli forces and were shot and killed as they tried to escape toward the mosques on the Temple Mount. The mount is the holiest site in Judaism.

The terrorists reportedly had come from the Temple Mount and were walking toward the Lions Gate exit when they started to attack Israeli officers near the gate before attempting to flee back onto the mount. It was not immediately clear how the weapons were smuggled onto the mount. Visitors to the site must first pass through a security check with metal detectors.

One dramatic video (see top) that has been posted by the news media here shows one of the terrorists lying on the ground before leaping up and attempting to attack the pursuing officers. The terrorist can be heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (or “Allah is great”) amid a hail of gunfire.

Other videos were posted on Twitter and YouTube:

The two murdered police officers were identified as 30-year-old Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Hael Sathawi, and 22-year-old Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shanan. Both resided in mostly Druze villages in northern Israel.

The three terrorists were reportedly Israeli Arabs from the northern town of Umm al-Fahm, which is known as a hotbed of Islamic radical extremism. The three reportedly had no prior arrest records.

“This was a tough morning for the police,” said Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich. “We have two people killed, officers, who paid the dearest price in this battle.”

In a highly unusual move, Israel cancelled Friday prayers on the Temple Mount due to the ongoing security situation. Mount preachers are notorious for using Friday night sermons to incite against Israel – especially with false claims of Israeli threats to the Al Aqsa Mosque – and there is fear here that the services could have been used to instigate further violence on the mount.

Friday’s attack comes less than two weeks after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed an anti-Israel resolution declaring Jerusalem’s Old City and its ancient walls to be “occupied” sites and listed the areas as Palestinian heritage sites in “danger.”

And the terrorist attack comes one week after UNESCO passed another anti-Israel resolution regarding the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron – considered the second holiest site in Judaism after the Temple Mount – claiming the tomb is a “Palestinian” world heritage site in danger.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook. </s> UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (APP): The United Nations Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the recent escalation of violence at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, according to diplomats.

 Sweden, Egypt and France requested the meeting to “urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported,” Sweden’s Deputy U.N. ambassador, Carl Skau, posted on Twitter.

 The request comes at the same time as news that a Palestinian man wounded in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank on Saturday has died of his injuries, the Palestinian health ministry said.

 It said 17-year-old Oday Nawajaa had been hit by live fire and critically wounded at Al-Azariya north of Jerusalem.

 The recent incidents occurred after at least four Palestinian people lost their lives during clashes in the occupied Palestinian lands on Friday.

 Tensions began to soar after the Israeli authorities imposed restrictive measures on the entry of worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem.

 The new restrictive measures include installation of metal detectors at entry points to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the suspension of all official contact with Israel until it removed the metal detectors.

 The Israeli government has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.

 Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.

 The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is also holy to Jews. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mkkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia. </s> JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli ministers have decided to stop the use of metal detectors at a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site, a statement said early Tuesday (July 25), after the new security measures set off deadly unrest.

The security Cabinet accepted "the recommendation of all the security bodies to change the inspection with metal detectors to a security inspection based on advanced technologies and other means," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

As word spread of the decision, a few hundred Palestinians gathered to celebrate near an entrance to the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

One person set off a firework, prompting Israeli police to raid and disperse them using sound grenades.

Israel installed metal detectors at entrances to the Jerusalem site, which includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, after an attack on July 14 that killed two policemen.

Palestinians view the new security measures as Israel asserting further control over the site. They have refused to enter the compound in protest and have prayed in the streets outside instead.

Israeli authorities said the metal detectors were needed because the July 14 attackers smuggled guns into the site and emerged from it to shoot the officers.

Clashes have broken out during protests over the measures, leaving five Palestinians dead.

Three Israelis were also killed when a Palestinian sneaked into a house in a West Bank settlement and stabbed them.

The decision to remove the metal detectors follows talks between Netanyahu and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Jordan is the official custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
Israeli riot police clash with Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount site in East Jerusalem. With holidays coincidentally falling on the same day (11 August) this year for both Judaism and Islam, some Palestinians began protesting the admittance of Jewish visitors to the site, despite a longstanding agreement barring Jewish visitors. Following the agreement, the Al-Aqsa police barred Jews from the site. Israeli forces then fired rubber bullets and tear gas at people inside. The Jews were then admitted, which caused further tensions on both sides of the dispute.