Violence breaks out at al-Aqsa mosque as Israeli forces storm building in search of Palestinian suspects

al-Aqsa mosque Credit: RTV

Israeli police stormed the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem in pursuit of suspected Palestinian bombers.

Dramatic footage from inside the mosque - one of Islam's holiest sites - shows people fleeing while loud bangs go off in the background, accompanied by bright flashes of light.

Police said the suspects were believed to have hidden explosives in East Jerusalem, and had barricaded themselves inside the mosque before throwing rocks and fireworks.

The clashes came just hours before the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and continued outside with forces firing tear gas and stun grenades.

Officials said they had found "a number of pipe bombs" in the area, which they believe were planned to go off when Jewish visitors began arriving.

Some local media reports claim several people were injured, citing witnesses who said the police attacked worshippers and damaged parts of the building, as well as some prayer mats, though Israeli police denied this.

The al-Aqsa mosque complex is in the site known as Temple Mount to Jews and the Haram al-Sharif - or Noble Sanctuary - to Muslims.

The competing beliefs of the holiness of the compound means tensions run high, and it is often a flashpoint for violence.

Relations have been particularly fraught in recent years as Jewish ultra-nationalists have pushed the Israeli government to allow Jewish prayer on the site - previously a privilege only granted to Muslims, with Jews confined to worship by the Wailing or Western Wall.

And last week, Israel's defence minister Moshe Yaalon banned two Islamic groups which regularly confront Jewish visitors to the site.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, and regards all of Jerusalem as its indivisible and eternal capital city - a claim not recognised b the international community.

Palestinians, meanwhile, want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they wish to establish in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.