Israeli security forces on Friday clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians near Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound as authorities limited access to the flashpoint site sacred to Muslims and Jews.
Eleven officers were injured and two Palestinians arrested, a police spokesman said after the scuffles, which came as Palestinians staged a one-day strike in defence of the compound they claim is threatened by right-wing Jews.
The trouble started in the Ras al-Amud neighbourhood just outside the gates of the Old City following Friday prayers when a dozen masked youths hurled stones at police.
As police moved deeper into the neighbourhood to arrest the youths, residents threw stones, water and even chairs at them. Authorities said it was an isolated incident and that they may lift restrictions on access to the mosque compound within days if calm prevails.
Several hundred Palestinians performed prayers in the open just outside the Old City after being denied access to Al-Aqsa. Security forces set up checkpoints around and within the Old City and turned back Palestinians who do not live or work there, witnesses said.
In the Gaza Strip, thousands of people on Friday took part in demonstrations called by the territory's Hamas rulers and the Islamic Jihad movement. "The real Al-Aqsa battle has started," said Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya.
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