Palestinians Clash With Israeli Soldiers, No CasualtiesPalestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli soldiers Thursday near the West Bank city of Ramallah, but no casualties were reported.Dozens of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with firing tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets to break up the protesters, reports reaching here from Ramallah said. The demonstration came hours after Israeli hawkish opposition leader Aerial Sharon visited the disputed holy site, the Temple Mount, in the walled Old City of East Jerusalem. The Temple Mount to Jews, or al-Haram al-Sharif to Muslims, houses holy sites to the two ethnics. Sovereignty over the site is the toughest issue in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Sharon's visit Thursday morning has led to violent clashes between the Palestinian protesters and Israeli police, in which 25 Israeli policemen and 10 Palestinians were injured. The Palestinian side has labelled Sharon's visit to the holy site as "a provocation" and regarded as a step to claim sovereignty over the shrine. |
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