In clashes outside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Monday, Palestinian demonstrators hurled rocks and Israeli police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets as Israel commemorated its 1967 Arab-Israeli war seizure of parts of the area.
At least 305 Palestinians were wounded in the violence, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, with 228 of them being taken to the hospital. Several Palestinians were in critical condition, and 21 officers were injured, according to police.
Throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, has become a focal point of violence in Jerusalem, and the clashes have increased international alarm about broader conflict.
The White House had urged Israel to maintain peace during its annual commemoration of the capture of East Jerusalem and the walled Old City, which houses Muslim, Jewish, and Christian holy sites.
In an attempt to defuse the situation, Israeli police prohibited Jewish groups from visiting the holy plaza that houses al-Aqsa and is revered by Jews as the site of biblical Jewish temples on Jerusalem Day.
However, a popular Jerusalem Day march through the Old City's Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter, with thousands of Israeli flag-waving Jewish teenagers, appeared to be on track.
Witnesses said that police in al-Aqsa fired tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets at hundreds of Palestinians who threw rocks at them in the morning.
Several hours later, the violence at the holy compound subsided, and witnesses said Israeli police pulled back and started allowing Palestinians over the age of 40 into the compound, who were considered less likely to engage in confrontations.
ORDER AND LAW
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in public that Israel was committed to maintaining law and order in Jerusalem while upholding "freedom of worship and tolerance for all."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, accused "Israeli occupation forces" of carrying out a "brutal attack" at al-Aqsa.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital, including the eastern portion, which it annexed without international recognition. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Tensions have also been heightened by plans to expel many Palestinian families from East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
On Sunday, Israel's attorney general obtained a postponement of a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for Monday in the long-running evictions case, which had threatened to rekindle unrest.
A lower court had ruled in favor of Jewish settlers' claim to the land where Palestinians live, a decision Palestinians see as an effort by Israel to force them out of disputed Jerusalem.
