Israeli troops, Palestinians clash after Sharon visits Jerusalem sacred site

Onlookers assist a wounded man after a confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli troops at a holy site in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A visit by Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon to the site known as the Temple Mount by Jews sparked a clash on Thursday between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli troops, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd.

Other clashes erupted in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

More than 30 people, most Israeli soldiers, were hurt in the Jerusalem clashes, which began after Sharon left what Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call al-Haram as-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary.

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Sharon, leader of the hard-line opposition party Likud, said he had gone to the site with a message of peace.

"I believe that we can live together with the Palestinians," Sharon said. "I came here to the holiest place of the Jewish people in order to see what happens here and really to have the feeling of how we need to move forward. There was no provocation here."

But Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said Sharon had gone to the site because he fears former Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu will wrest control of the right-wing party from him. The visit, Ashrawi said, was "a very cynical and willful manipulation of an extremely volatile situation."

"I think Sharon is afraid of Netanyahu vying for the leadership of the Likud so he is attempting here to pander to the fundamentalists, the Jewish extremists and try to start a new competition between him and Netanyahu," she said.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Sharon's visit was dangerous and that Arab and Islamic nations should mobilize to protect the shrine. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had no immediate comment on the incident.

Conflicting claims

Who will have sovereignty over the holy mount has been a major stumbling block to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Deadly clashes erupted twice in the last decade, as rival claims to the site heated up.

The site hosts Judaism's most sacred shrine, the Western Wall, the last remaining segment of the ancient Temple, and is home to two major mosques, Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock. Those sites, making up Islam's third holiest site behind Mecca and Medina, mark the spot where tradition says the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven.

In 1990, rumors that Jewish extremists planned to start rebuilding the Temple started a riot in which 17 Palestinians were killed and scores wounded by police gunfire. In 1996, the Israeli government opened an archeological tunnel just outside the compound, sparking riots in which 80 people, most of them Palestinians, were killed.

Currently, Muslim clerics have autonomy in administering the site, although Israeli police remain in charge of security.

About 200 Palestinian university students in the West Bank city of Ramallah burned tires and threw stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with rubber-coated bullets. Four Palestinians were injured.

Also Thursday, an Israeli soldier critically injured in a bomb attack on an army convoy in the Gaza Strip died of his wounds. Barak demanded that Arafat do more to rein in Islamic militants who are trying to sabotage Mideast peace efforts.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna,and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Temple Mount in Jerusalem
The Western Wall
Likud (Hebrew)
Israeli Ministry of Justice (Hebrew)
Office of the Israeli Prime Minister (Hebrew)
Israeli Government

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