Clashes erupted Sunday morning between Palestinian rioters and Israeli police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, as Jewish pilgrims visited the religious site for the Shavuot holiday.
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Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and threw stones at the police, chanting "Allahu akbar," ("God is great") according to video recordings posted on social networks.
Other footage showed a small group of Jewish worshipers visiting the site flanked by police, followed by rioters loudly waving Palestinian flags.
The visits continued, however, but under the strong protection of the Israel Police.
"While there is complete freedom of worship for Muslims on the Temple Mount, earlier this morning a handful of rioters from within the Al-Aqsa Mosque once again desecrated the sanctity of the Mosque," the Israel Police tweeted.
"Israeli police forces are taking measures to maintain order and allow safe visits," the statement said. "Calm has been restored."
In late May, nearly 2,600 non-Muslims – tourists and Israelis – visited the Temple Mount in groups of 40 to 50 people to mark Jerusalem Day, a record number according to police.
Some 3,000 officers had also been deployed to supervise the so-called flag march – a procession of 70,000 people – from the center of Jerusalem to the Western Wall in the Old City.
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The Temple Mount (the esplanade of the mosques for Muslims) is administered by the Waqf, a religious trust managed and financed by Jordan. The site is the most sacred place for Jews; Al-Aqsa is the third sanctuary of Islam.
Under a historical status quo, non-Muslims are generally permitted to visit the Temple Mount at specific times but not to pray there or perform other acts of worship that may be considered provocative to Muslims.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
