OCCUPIED JERUSALEM:The Israeli authorities have detained 12 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem over charges of involvement in clashes with Israeli troops.

 

In a statement on its website, the Israeli police said the 12 were detained overnight over involvement in "rioting."

 

Tension has gripped the holy city since Israel unleashed a military offensive against the blockaded Gaza Strip on July 7.

 

At least 1823 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and 9420 wounded in unrelenting Israeli attacks since then.

 

The offensive - codenamed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate coastal enclave within the last six years.

 

Five Israeli policemen were injured earlier Monday in clashes with Palestinian worshippers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem after dozens of Israeli policemen forced their way into the holy site.

 

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted the clashes erupted "when riots began by Arabs" at Al-Magharbeh Gate of the compound.

 

A Palestinian guard of the site said Israeli policemen had stormed the compound and fired stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets at the worshippers.

 

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming Jerusalem as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state.