Clashes erupt amid holy site tensions-East Jerusalem

A number of people have been reported wounded in the violence

Israeli forces and Palestinians have clashed in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank amid friction over a Jerusalem holy site.

Water canon and tear gas were fired after rioters threw stones and other objects outside the walls of the Old City, police said.

Clashes were also reported at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Tensions have soared since two Israeli policemen were shot dead last Friday.

Three Israeli Arab gunmen killed the officers near the holy site know to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple mount. The gunmen were shot dead after being pursued into the sacred compound.

Palestinian factions had called for a "day of rage" on Friday in protest at the installation by Israel of metal detectors at the entrance to the site.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian man has been shot dead in East Jerusalem, Palestinian officials say. The circumstances were not immediately clear.

Palestinian and Islamic leaders have fiercely objected to the metal detectors, saying the measure is a violation of the status quo.

Israel says it is a necessary for security after the weapons used to kill the policemen were smuggled into the holy site.

The area, in East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel has repeatedly pledged to maintain the status quo - a delicate set of arrangements in place at the site for the past 50 years. Any changes there are often regarded by Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a sought-after state, as a violation of these arrangements.

thousands of police were deployed around the compound on Friday morning, and Palestinian men under the age of 50 were barred from entering the Old City - a measure which is sometimes taken to try to prevent violent protests at the holy site.

Police said they fired tear gas to disperse Palestinians who threw stones and tried to break through a police barricade in the street outside.

Clashes also erupted at the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem, and at the northern entrance of Bethlehem. Dozens of Palestinians were injured, Palestinian sources said.

There have been nightly clashes in Jerusalem since the metal detectors were introduced last weekend.

Palestinians had refused to enter the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount - home to the al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock - unless they were removed, holding prayers outside instead.

On Friday though, a number of worshippers went into the site to pray.

source-BBC news....