AFP reported that clashes broke out today between Israeli police and Palestinian protestors outside Jerusalem’s Old City.
Palestinian youth burned police and pelted Israeli police with stones at Damascus Gate near the Al-Aqsa mosque. The site frequently witnesses clashes because it is of significance to both Muslims and Jews. The Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. The site also hosts the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism. Jews are not allowed to pray within the compound.
Even as clashes broke out in Jerusalem, thousands of demonstrators took to marches in Gaza. The protests were called by the enclave’s Islamist rulers Hamas.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in New York yesterday that the current round of peace negotiations was a “last chance.” He also demanded that any peace deal result in a permanent solution. Jerusalem is one of the major sticking points between Israel and Palestine. President Abbas asked the international community to condemn the building of settlements by Israel in Jerusalem.
