Israel police storm Al-Aqsa mosque compound

By: Ahmad Hammadi

HELD JERUSALEM: Israeli police in riot gear stormed on Friday one of Islam's holiest sites, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City throwing stun grenades to disperse protesting worshipers.

The clashes at the shrine followed a week of Palestinian protests in the West Bank against a barrier that Israel is building in and around occupied territory, which is now under World Court review.

An ambulance driver said four Palestinian had been injured but none seriously, and police said three officers were lightly hurt.

Israel seized East Jerusalem, including the ancient walled Old City -- where the compound is located -- in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of the state they hope to establish.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian suicide bomber on a bicycle exploded next to an Israeli military jeep in the Gaza Strip on Friday, but caused no casualties among its occupants, the army said.

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