Palestinians and Israeli security forces clashed inside the Jerusalem compound that houses the al-Aqsa mosque on Thursday night, as thousands of Muslims rushed to pray at the site for the first time in nearly two weeks following Israel’s removal of controversial security devices.

Scenes of jubilation inside one of the city’s most revered sites had greeted the early morning removal of all additional security measures imposed on the site by Israeli security forces, following days of Palestinian street protests over the devices.

But the celebrations turned to scenes of chaos in the evening as Israeli police threw stun grenades in a narrow lane outside one of the mosque’s main entrances. Israeli police said they responded after stones were thrown at officers at the gates to the site.



Q&A Why is the al-Aqsa mosque compound administered by Jordan?​ Show Hide Jordan is the custodian of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem that has been at the centre of Palestinian protests after Israel introduced controversial security measures​ at the site earlier this month.



Though the devices – including metal detectors and barriers – have been removed, tensions remain high. The compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, is sacred for both sides and​ has long been a lightning rod for their​ rival religious and national narratives.



Jordan's Hashemite monarchy has administered the site since 1924, paying for its upkeep and​ deriving part of its legitimacy from the role. Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war, and annexed the area – a move that was never internationally recognised. But under fragile diplomatic arrangements, Jordan​continued as​ custodian, which was reaffirmed in its peace treaty with Israel in 1994.



Many of Jordan’s seven million citizens are of Palestinian origin. On Thursday, King Abdullah of Jordan urged Israel to “respect the historical and legal situation in the holy shrine to prevent the recurrence of these crises”.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 100 Palestinians were hurt, including some by rubber bullets and beatings. It said several people suffered broken bones.

Palestinians had been boycotting entry to the site while the additional security measures – introduced after three Israeli Arabs killed two Israeli police officers at an entrance to the compound on 14 July – remained in place.

In a surprise reversal, the extra security – including barriers and infrastructure for new cameras – were removed by workers in the early hours of Thursday following the dismantling of metal detectors earlier this week, amid fears of unrest during what were expected to be large protests around Friday prayers.

Play Video 0:34 Israeli police deploy stun grenades at al-Aqsa mosque – video

Thursday was the first day in almost a fortnight in which Muslim officials had ruled it was permissible to enter the compound to pray.



“After extensive discussion and after achieving this victory in this round we call on our people in Jerusalem and inside (Israel) and anyone who can access the al-Aqsa Mosque to enter ... en masse,” the Islamic leaders said in a statement.

However, as thousands of joyful worshippers packed the area outside of the Lions Gate entrance to the mosque compound for afternoon prayers, it became clear that one of the key entrances – the Huta gate – was still being blocked by Israeli border police, who only allowed worshippers to enter at the last moment.

Tensions were heightened further still as police opened and closed the gate several times before dispersing the crowd with stun grenades.

The confrontations continued inside the mosque compound itself where police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as Palestinians threw stones inside the site that is holy to Muslims and Jews.

The 15-hectare (37-acre) compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, has long been a lightning rod for the rival religious and national narratives of the two sides.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An official of the Waqf, the Islamic institution that administers the compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque, is carried shoulder high by Palestinian worshippers to one of the main entrances to the shrine. Photograph: Peter Beaumont/The Guardian

There have been signs that the prayer protest movement – which drew thousands each night to largely non-violent gatherings – had given an unusual sense of empowerment to Palestinians in East Jerusalem who have long lived without their own political institutions under Israeli occupation.

Israeli security analysts had noted that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, had thrown his weight behind the movement, suspending security coordination with Israel.

The Islamist group Hamas also sought to endorse the street protests, and hailed the removal of the security measures. Izzat Risheq, a senior leader, tweeted that Palestinians had achieved a “historic victory … tomorrow they will celebrate the removal of the occupation itself”.

Ahead of the clashes there had been a festival spirit in the streets around the mosque with worshippers handing out sweets to passersby to celebrate. Among those who had gathered was a family of three women, Safa, Rima and Arin Shamsiya.



“We feel so happy,” said Safa. “It has been the most stressful two weeks ever. But the sense of community among the Palestinians of Jerusalem has been incredible in standing up for al-Aqsa.”

Firas Abasi said he felt like crying over the “victory”. “For 12 days no one has slept, no one has done anything except the al-Aqsa mosque,” he said.

Mohammed Abu Sneina, a cook who works in Tel Aviv, told the Guardian he had told his manager he could not come to work while he was protesting over the Israeli-imposed security measures at al-Aqsa.

“I need to be here,” he said. “I’ve been coming each days since early in the morning.”

After parts of the crowd were sent scattering by stun grenades the mood changed sharply. “It’s the Israelis who are doing this,” screamed a woman who declined to give her name. “They said that we could come here to pray today and then they do this.”

Jordan is the Muslim custodian of the shrine Islam’s third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe the site marks the spot where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Jews also revere the hilltop compound as the Temple Mount, site of the two Jewish biblical temples. It is the holiest site in Judaism, and the nearby Western Wall, a remnant of one of the temples, is the holiest place where Jews can pray.

King Abdullah of Jordan urged Israel to “respect the historical and legal situation in the holy shrine to prevent the recurrence of these crises”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Palestinian worshippers pray between police security barriers in the street outside the Lions’ Gate entrance to the compound. Photograph: Peter Beaumont/The Guardian

Israeli far-right political leaders, on whom the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is dependent to keep his coalition in power, criticised the removal of the security devices.

Naftali Bennett, the education minister and a member of the security cabinet, told Army Radio that Israel had been weakened by the decision. “I anticipate an increase in violence soon,” he said. “Every time that Israel strategically caves, we get an intifada. You sort of benefit in the short term, but you cause damage in the long run.”

Netanyahu has faced a growing backlash from both his political opponents and even his traditional backers for his handling of the crisis. Perhaps most extraordinarily, his stance was denounced as “feeble and frightened” by Israel Hayom, a freesheet that usually backs him unquestioningly.

The paper, nicknamed the Bibiton combining the Hebrew word for paper and Netanyahu’s nickname, condemned the prime minister’s “demonstration of helplessness”.

In a populist move, apparently designed to try and repair his credentials with his rightwing base, Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Palestinian who killed three Israelis last week should be executed.

“The death penalty for terrorists is something that the time has come to do,” the prime minister told the family of the dead Israelis.

Though Israeli law permits the death penalty, the Israeli government has only put one person to death: Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, in 1962.