Police clash with Muslims at protest in east J'lem

Hundreds descend from Temple Mount towards US consulate in east J'lem to protest film denigrating Prophet Mohammad.

Police walk near Jerusalem's Damascus Gate 390 (R) (photo credit: Ammar Awad / Reuters)
Police walk near Jerusalem's Damascus Gate 390 (R)
(photo credit: Ammar Awad / Reuters)
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