Israeli Police And Palestinian Clashes Broke Out Again Monday Morning

Israeli police detain Palestinian protesters (Ammar Awad/Reuters via Antara)

JAKARTA - Heavy clashes broke out again between Palestinians and Israeli police in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound area Monday, May 10, morning.

The tension comes as Israel celebrates 'Jerusalem Day', the annual celebration of east Jerusalem's occupation, and the walled Old City, which is home to Muslim, Jewish, and Christian holy sites, in the 1967 war.

To defuse tensions, Israeli police said they had banned Jewish groups from making Jerusalem Day visits to the holy square that houses Al-Aqsa, and which Jews revere as the site of biblical Jewish temples, Reuters reported Monday, May 10.

Police are also considering whether to reroute the traditional Jerusalem Day march, in which thousands of Jewish youths waving Israeli flags march through the Damascus Gate of the Old City and the Muslim Quarter.

Live video showed Palestinians throwing stones at police in riot gear in the stone-strewn al-Aqsa square and police firing stun grenades. There have been no reports of casualties related to this morning's clashes.

Police say they have deployed thousands of officers on the streets of Jerusalem and on rooftops to keep the peace.

Meanwhile, according to the Times of Israel, police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in the morning, after thousands of Palestinians gathered at the compound overnight, collecting many stones and other makeshift weapons.

Police said dozens of rioters attacked a police post and began throwing rocks from inside the compound toward a road south of the complex, blocking the road but causing no injuries or damage.

"It prompted the police to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The officer was attacked and responded with a stun grenade," police said. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent said hundreds of people were injured, as footage posted on social media showed several clashes.

המהומות בהר הבית | תיעוד: יידוי אבנים וירי זיקוקים לעבר כוחות המשטרה במתחם. על גי דיווחיח גלג ינייח גמה מגיניח נג עוירי גדורי וומי וח מדמיע, אחד מהח נג עבאורח גשה@SuleimanMas1 @nurityohanan pic.twitter.com/pwwbafji39

— גאג חדשות (@kann_news) May 10, 2021