At least 163 Palestinians and six police officers were wounded Friday in clashes across Jerusalem, the Palestinian Red Crescent and Israeli police said.
The Red Crescent said most of the wounded were hurt in clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and that most of the injuries were caused by rubber bullets. A spokeswoman said medics opened a field hospital to treat the high number of patients.
Israeli riot police clashed with many hundreds of Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound Friday, capping a week of violence in the Holy City and the occupied West Bank. Palestinians hurled stones, bottles and fireworks at police who fired rubber bullets and stun grenades in the disturbances at Islam's third-holiest site, which is also revered by Jews as the location of two biblical-era temples.
At least 49 Palestinians and six Israeli police officers were reported wounded in the latest flare-up, as the Palestinian Red Crescent said it had opened a nearby field hospital because emergency rooms were full. Israeli police said that because of the "rioting of thousands of worshippers" after evening prayers, security forces had to "restore order".
Tensions in Jerusalem have soared in recent weeks as Palestinians have protested against Israel restrictions on access to parts of the Old City during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and after authorities ordered several Palestinian families to leave their homes to make way for Israeli settlers. The United States called for "de-escalation" and said the threatened evictions could worsen the situation in east Jerusalem, as the United Nations warned the forced evictions could amount to "war crimes".
Friday's unrest came on Al-Quds (Jerusalem in Arabic) Day, an annual day of pro-Palestinian rallies held by Iran, the arch-enemy of Israel, which also saw many thousands march in majority-Muslim countries across the region and as far as Pakistan.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said in a televised statement that he held the Israeli government "responsible" for the unrest and voiced "full support for our heroes in Aqsa". The clashes erupted as Muslims got in the Al-Aqsa compound, to pray on the last Friday of Ramadan at the highly sensitive site. The second Palestinian intifada broke out in 2000 after a visit there by then right-wing Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon, seen as a painful provocation by Palestinians.