Israeli police throw stun grenades during clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque

Palestinian protesters threw rocks and Israeli police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets in clashes outside the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on Monday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more than 180 Palestinians were injured in the violence, of whom more than 80, including one person in critical condition, were transferred to hospitals, Reuters reported.

Tensions in the city were particularly high as Israel was marking “Jerusalem Day”, its annual celebration of the capture of East Jerusalem, and the walled Old City that is home to Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy places, in a 1967 war.

Reuters reported that al-Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest site, has been a focal point of violence in Jerusalem at the height of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The clashes have raised international concern..

In an effort to ease the situation, Israeli police said they had banned Jewish groups from paying Jerusalem Day visits to the holy plaza that houses al-Aqsa, and which Jews revere as the site of biblical Jewish temples.

Live video showed Palestinians hurling rocks at police in riot gear on al-Aqsa’s stone-strewn plaza and police firing stun grenades. The skirmishes appeared to be less fierce than clashes late last week.

Police said they had deployed thousands of officers in Jerusalem streets and on rooftops to keep the peace, Reuters reported.