JERUSALEM
By Alaa Rimawi
Israeli security forces withdrew from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday following clashes with Palestinian worshippers, a Palestinian compound guard has said.
"Israeli police and army troops pulled out of the compound after attacking Palestinian worshippers," the guard, who asked not to be named, told Anadolu Agency.
"At least 20 Palestinians were injured and five others arrested," he added.
Clashes erupted at the holy site earlier Wednesday after scores of Jewish settlers – led by Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel and Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, and backed by Israeli police – forced their way into the compound.
In a bid to disperse angry Palestinians, Israeli forces fired rubber bullets and teargas, leaving 20 Palestinians injured and dozens suffering teargas inhalation.
Jews will celebrate Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday, which will mark the first day of the new Jewish year of 5775.
Groups of Jewish extremists have called for marking the holiday by storming Al-Aqsa and performing Talmudic rituals in the mosque compound.
Over the course of the last year, groups of extremist Jewish settlers, often accompanied by Israeli security forces, have forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex – the world's third holiest site for Muslims – with increasing frequency.
Jews refer to Al-Aqsa as the "Temple Mount," claiming the area was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming Jerusalem as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli leader Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed and injured.
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