RAMALLAH
At least five Palestinian protesters were injured by rubber bullets fired by Israeli forces on Friday evening during clashes that followed a demonstration in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, eyewitnesses have said.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that a number of Palestinian protesters had suffered teargas inhalation due to teargas fired by Israeli forces.
The demonstration was held to protest a fresh raft of Israeli restrictions on Muslim worshippers at East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque complex.
Earlier Friday, Palestinian security forces dispersed a rally staged by Palestinian resistance faction Hamas to protest Israeli restrictions on Palestinian youth entering the Al-Aqsa while allowing Jewish settlers into the complex for recent Jewish religious holidays.
In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers – often accompanied by Israeli security forces – have repeatedly forced their way into East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.
Last week, scores of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli forces inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli leader Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
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