Four people were arrested in east Jerusalem on Friday during clashes stemming
from the controversial film Innocence of Muslims which has already sparked mass
protests in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen. Waving Korans and chanting anti- American
slogans, hundreds of Arabs clashed with police after leaving Friday prayers at
the Temple Mount.
The demonstrators marched from the Temple Mount to
Damascus Gate with the intention of marching to the old US consulate on Shehem
Street.
At Damascus Gate the marchers joined a few dozen teenagers who
had been protesting the movie. The protesters threw stones at border police as
they tried to make their way down Salah-a-Din Street but were halted by police
forces. Border police used stun grenades to break up the protest near Flowers
Gate.
A number of officers were lightly injured from smoke inhalation.
There was also rock throwing at the entrance to the Shuafat Refugee Camp, though
there were no injuries.
National police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said
the protests were “medium-sized” but that police had been prepared for the
possibility of riots in connection with the film.
In a rare move, the US
State Department on Thursday issued a travel warning for Jerusalem, urging
American citizens to “defer nonessential travel and exercise
caution.”
Also Thursday, around 50 activists gathered outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, chanting “God is Great” and waving the green flags of the
Israel Islamic Movement.
Attorney Zahi Nujeidat, spokesman for the group,
said that the protesters came from across Israel to the embassy to “express our
rage about this despicable movie that has harmed the honor of our
prophet.”
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this article