Tensions rise in West Bank as fresh clashes erupt

Tensions rose in the occupied West Bank on Friday, as Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in the city of Hebron. Police were on high alert in Jerusalem where authorities again restricted access to the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque.

By News Wires (text)

AFP - Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday in the latest such incident in the increasingly tense region.

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Friday fell into an empty field in the Shaar Hanegev area of southern Israel without causing any casualties.

On Thursday, a Thai farm labourer was killed when a rocket landed in an Israeli village, prompting the army to launch overnight air strikes targeting what the military called "terror sites".

About 300 protesters chanted "Thousands of martyrs march to Jerusalem" and several hurled rocks at security forces who responded with tear gas.

Police were also on high alert in Jerusalem where authorities again prevented men under 50 from attending Friday prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

An already charged atmosphere intensified this week as a rebuilt 17th-century synagogue was opened in the Jewish quarter of the Old City, a few hundred metres (yards) from the compound.

Many Palestinians view Israeli projects near the mosque compound -- a site holy both to Jews and Muslims -- as an assault on its status quo or a prelude to the building of a third Jewish temple there.