Israeli Forces Fire Rubber Bullets in Al-Aqsa Clashes

Israeli security forces clashed with Palestinians at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque Sunday, after weeks of intermittent clashes at the site.

Palestinian media outlets reported protesters accused Israeli police of provoking clashes when they entered the mosque compound. According to Al Jazeera, witnesses stated police used stun grenades and rubber bullets against crowds of worshipers that gathered at the mosque on the last day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

Police have released a statement claiming they were attacked first by youths throwing stones.

The latest clashes come days after the Jewish new year Rosh Hashana was marred by similar clashes at the site, with is also revered in Judaism as the Temple Mount.

Amid the unrest in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for harsher measures against stone throwers.

According to the Israeli left-wing newspaper Haaretz, Netanyahu also ordered the country's attorney general to allow the police to authorize sniper fire in Jerusalem against stone throwers. Currently the Israel armed forces are allowed to use snipers against Palestinians who throw fire bombs or large stones. They can only target the perpetrators’ legs.

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However, since the Second Intifada, the police have not been allowed to use snipers against Palestinians, largely due to an outcry from human rights groups that have slammed the practice as disproportionate. The policy has now been reintroduced.

This new policy comes months after the Israeli cabinet approved legislation that would allow prosecutors to seek up to 10 year sentences for stone throwers.

However, Netanyahu has also called for an automatic “minimum penalty” for any stone throwers in Jerusalem and across the occupied territories before prosecutors or courts bring charges against them.