Clashes rock Jerusalem`s Al-Aqsa mosque compound

Agencies, Jerusalem :Clashes have erupted after a number of Israeli soldiers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, police and witnesses said.The Israeli security personnel used tear gas as they entered the compound to arrest what they called Palestinian “stone throwers”.”Masked protesters who were inside the mosque threw stones and fireworks at police,” said a police statement carried by AFP news agency. A Muslim witness accused police of entering the mosque and causing damage, saying prayer mats were partially burned.Omar Kiswani, the manager of Al-Aqsa mosque, told Al Jazeera that 80 “Jewish settlers” protected by the Israeli police, attacked the mosque when confronted by Palestinian volunteer guards. Clashes later continued outside the mosque complex, with police firing tear gas and stun grenades.Israeli security forces closed the mosque’s compound to worshippers following the clashes that come just hours before the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for Israeli police, said that the Israeli police received intelligence in the morning about the possible disturbances at Al-Aqsa Mosque that would involve explosive devices as well as stones thrown at Jewish visitors.”…[O]ur police officers entered the area, I am talking about the Temple Mount area only, and shut the front doors of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent those riots from overflowing onto the Temple Mount area.”Our police units took the situation under control from 20 to 25 minutes only using stun grenades, non-lethal weapons only to make sure that situation remained calm.”Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler, reporting from Jerusalem, said there are some reports that Jewish groups and Jewish activists who are not supposed to pray in the Al-Alqsa compound got in there and this is what could have triggered the clashes.”We are hearing that the minister of Agriculture, a member of a right-wing political party here in Israel, was waiting to get into the compound this morning. If that directly sparked the what we saw, it is difficult to say.” Heidler said.