[Al Arabiya Latest] Clashes erupted on Sunday between police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the latest violence to shake Jerusalem's flashpoint site holy to Muslims and Jews.The clashes came amid rising tensions in the past weeks over the area known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary.
Police said they entered the compound in the morning after Palestinian demonstrators threw stones at visitors to the holy site, known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said youths threw stones and a petrol bomb at police on a routine patrol near the al-Aqsa mosque. He said 12 arrests were made in and around the compound.
Palestinian officials said police had closed off the compound to visitors, leaving hundreds of worshippers inside.
Rosenfeld said the forces were trying to disperse the crowd but could not confirm that the area had been sealed off. He said fewer than 100 civilians were involved in the violent incident.