JERUSALEM—Israeli police faced off with fireworks-hurling Palestinians in the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday as they entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the shrine.
Violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which erupted on Friday, has raised fears about a slide back into deeper conflict over the site as the Muslim month of Ramadan coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. Christians also marked Easter in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Sunday’s confrontations were less violent, but Israeli police said several passengers on two buses had been lightly wounded when stone-throwing Palestinians smashed the vehicles’ windows. Nine people were arrested, police said.
Palestinians said Israeli police had temporarily limited their access to the compound—which is also a vestige of ancient Jewish temples—after dawn prayers to enable a scheduled visit by Jews who toured the site on foot under guard.
Police said they took measures to prevent the disruption of the visit by “hundreds” of protesters, some of them masked, who were seen stockpiling rocks on the compound. Muslim freedom of worship was being preserved, police said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said 17 Palestinians were wounded, including five people who were hospitalized. By midday, witnesses said police had moved out of the compound.
