Clashes erupt at flashpoint Jerusalem holy site

Clashes broke out in and around Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Wednesday just hours before the start of the Jewish New Year holiday.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP that Palestinian youths had thrown stones and petrol bombs at police, injuring several, who had "pushed the rioters inside the Al-Aqsa mosque".

Police also blocked all access to the compound, which lies in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City, to prevent the unrest from spreading.

The clashes were apparently triggered by the early-morning visit to the site by a group of Jewish visitors ahead of the start of the two-day Rosh Hashana holiday, which begins at sundown.

Two of them were arrested for violating an order barring Jews from praying at the site, she said.

Near the compound, police were seen throwing sound bombs at a small crowd of Palestinians waiting just outside Lion's Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City.

One policeman suffered head injuries in the scuffle.

Occasional bangs of sound bombs could be heard coming from the esplanade.

The Al-Aqsa compound is the scene of frequent clashes, usually between Palestinians and Israeli police.

It houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site, and is revered by Jews as the location of the biblical Jewish temples, considered Judaism's holiest place.

Security forces regularly impose an age limit on worshippers attending Muslim weekly prayers on Fridays, keeping out men under the age of 50.

Non-Muslim visits to the Al-Aqsa complex are permitted and regulated by police, but Jews are not allowed to pray at the site for fear it could trigger major disturbances and unrest.