Israeli police try to quell trouble at disputed mosque

Hundreds of Israeli police have entered the mosque compound that is Jerusalem's most contested religious site and fired stun grenades at Muslims who were throwing stones at Jews worshipping nearby.

Seven Palestinians and six Israeli police were injured, according to police and Israel's army radio.

Earlier, police blocked a small group of ultranationalist Jews who sought to march on the mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

The police entered the compound to pursue the Muslim stone-throwers, while Jews praying at the Western Wall down below fled the barrage of stones, with some holding plastic chairs above their heads for protection, reports said.

The Jewish group, the "Temple Mount Faithful," wanted to plant a cornerstone for a future Jewish temple on the compound, the site of the two Jewish biblical temples. Two mosques, including the golden Dome of the Rock, now stand on the compound, atop the ruins of the ancient temples.

The Temple Mount Faithful was allowed to hold a short ceremony in a car park outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City. The group brought a large cornerstone meant to symbolise the reconstruction of the temple.

After the ceremony, the cornerstone was taken from the area in order not to provoke Arab anger. The Temple Mount Faithful, numbering no more than 30, demonstrated near a gate leading to the mosques where hundreds of police turned them back.

Inside the compound, about 2,000 Muslim worshippers gathered to oppose any efforts by the group to break into the area.

Ibrahim Sarsour, an Arab Israeli and leader of the Islamic Movement, warned that any radical Jew forcing his way onto the mosque compound would provoke a confrontation.

"If, God forbid, these people will break through the police blockades, we will defend the mosques with our bodies," Mr Sarsour said.