More Clashes in Jerusalem

A day after Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police in Jerusalem, hundreds of Israeli police patrolled Jerusalem's holy site. They also reopened the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound to Muslim worshippers and tourists today.

Palestinian protesters feared right-wing Jewish leaders' calls for their followers to enter the compound to pray there. Such moves are designed to assert Jewish control, or "conquest" as the Palestinians called it, over the holy site.

Yesterday, Israeli police twice entered the compound and clashed with stone-throwing Palestinian youths in the narrow streets of the Old City. At least 18 Palestinians were detained during the fighting. More than two dozen injuries were reported; Israeli police used tear gas and stun grenades.

The AFP reports that in Israeli-occupied Jerusalem, "perceived changes in the status quo have often sparked deadly clashes."

Late last month, a visit by Jewish agitators onto the compound triggered massive clashes in Arab East Jerusalem for days.

The eastern section of Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war, but Palestinians claim it to be the capital of their future state.

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