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Injuries as tensions boil over at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque

Palestinians and police clash as compound is opened to Jewish visitors

Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli police Wednesday when Jerusalem's flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound was opened to Jewish visitors.

Israeli police said that Palestinians threw "stones and firecrackers" at police when they opened the walled compound's gates.

Police responded with stun grenades and closed the complex to the Jewish visitors after a small number had toured it.

Dozens of Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets and stun grenade canisters.

And the remaining demonstrators stayed inside the mosque out of fear they would be arrested when leaving.

Outside the complex, police fired tear gas at Palestinians who scuffled with them, witnesses said.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 25 people had been treated for gas inhalation, and a doctor said that one woman had been taken to hospital after being hit by a rubber bullet.

Palestinian concerns over the mosque have been heightened recently by the fact that allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are among the most vocal advocates of Jewish prayer at the 25-acre complex.

And on Monday, police arrested five Jews suspected of intending to sacrifice a goat at the mosque complex, in a bid to reenact an ancient Passover ritual.

Non-Muslim visits to the al-Aqsa complex are permitted and regulated by police, but Jews are not allowed to pray at the site.

Jewish fringe groups have vowed to build a third Temple, but Israeli political and religious authorities have repeatedly dismissed the idea.

In a separate incident elsewhere in Jerusalem's Old City, a police officer was slightly wounded by stones thrown by Palestinians.

Meanwhile, a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators was postponed after Mr Netanyahu publicly blamed a fatal shooting on incitement by Palestinian leaders.

Monday's killing of an Israeli official in the West Bank "was the result of the incitement to hatred by Palestinian Authority leaders who continue to peddle hate-filled material against Israel," he said.

High-ranking Israeli intelligence officer Baruch Mizrahi was shot dead while driving outside Hebron.

Israel's army and police were still hunting for the gunman yesterday.

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