Israeli police say they arrested two young Palestinian men as they left Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque complex following Friday prayers, according to a police statement.
"Two young [Palestinian] men suspected of throwing rocks at police forces have been arrested," the Israeli police said via Twitter, noting there had been no casualties or material damage.
Israel's General Radio reported that a number of Palestinian protesters threw rocks at Israeli police stationed outside Al-Aqsa's western Al-Magharba Gate during a hundreds-strong rally Friday afternoon held in solidarity with their counterparts in the embattled Gaza Strip.
Tension remains high in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces continue to clash with pro-Gaza demonstrators.
The densely-populated Gaza Strip has reeled under a weeks-long Israeli military onslaught that ended this week with the signing of an Egypt-brokered cease-fire deal, which Palestinian resistance factions described as a "victory."
The cease-fire deal, in effect since 16:00 Tuesday, ended 51 days of relentless Israeli attacks on the strip, which saw 2,145 Palestinians killed – the vast majority of them civilians – and nearly 11,000 injured.
Over the course of Israel's offensive, at least 70 Israelis – 65 soldiers and five civilians – were killed, according to Israeli figures.
For Muslims, Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming Jerusalem as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
According to the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoners' Affairs, 85 percent of the roughly 7,000 Palestinians currently imprisoned by Israel hail from the occupied West Bank.
www.aa.com.tr/en
