(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Jerusalem: Stabbings and clashes that left six people dead raised fears yesterday of further Israeli-Palestinian violence as tensions mount over new security measures at a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced what he called 'excessive use of force by the Israeli security forces in the clashes over the Haram Al Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Erdogan called for an immediate end to Israel's new restrictions at the compound of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque.
Tensions have risen throughout the past week because of new Israeli security measures at the compound following an attack nearby that killed two policemen on July 14.
The measures have included the installation of metal detectors at entrances to the site, which Palestinians reject since they view the move as Israel asserting further control over it.
Erdogan, who said he was speaking in his capacity as the current chairman of the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, called the restrictions 'unacceptable.
'I urge the international community to immediately take action to remove practices that restrict freedom of worship at Haram Al Sharif, he said.
Israeli authorities say the July 14 attackers smuggled guns into the holy site and emerged from it to shoot the policemen.
Friday's main weekly Muslim prayers — which typically draw thousands to Al Aqsa — brought the situation to a boil.
In anticipation of protests, Israel barred men under 50 from entering the Old City for prayers, stoking further Palestinian anger.
Clashes broke out between Israeli security forces and Palestinians around the Old City, in other parts of annexed east Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
Three Palestinians between the ages of 17 and 20 were shot dead. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 450 people wounded in Jerusalem and the West Bank, including 170 from live or rubber bullets.
The 19-year-old Palestinian was shot by a neighbour, an off-duty soldier, and was taken to hospital.
Israeli security forces yesterday raided the home of Palestinians and restricted movement for Palestinians from his West Bank village, the military said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said security forces 'surveyed the house of the assailant in the village of Khobar, searched for weapons and confiscated money used for terror purposes. The brother of the assailant was also apprehended.
'Movement out of the village will be limited to humanitarian cases only, she said.
The Israeli army said he had spoken of the Jerusalem holy site and of dying as a martyr in a Facebook post.
Preparations were also being made to demolish the attacker's home, a measure Israel regularly employs because it views it as a deterrent, although human rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment.
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