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Yesterday, for the second day in a row, Muslim rioters clashed with Israeli police on the Temple Mount, pelting them with stones, firecrackers and other objects, to prevent visits by non-Muslims on the site during the final ten days of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

Israel Police said: “Arab youths, some of them masked, barricaded themselves during the night in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount with the aim of confronting police, and to disrupt the regular visits and visitors in the Temple Mount area during the Ramadan holiday.”

The statement continued to explain that “Muslim youths, some of them masked, began to throw at the forces stones they had gathered in advance,” as well as fireworks.

Although Israeli security forces contained the violence for the duration of the visits, the violence continued once the visitors had left. Palestinian Authority spokesman Youssef al-Mahmoud accused Israel of “aggression against al-Aqsa and offence against the worshippers”.

Jerusalem police said that in light of the ongoing tension, non-Muslims would be barred from accessing the Temple Mount for the next three days. Additional forces would also be added to the security presence on the site if needed, said the Jerusalem police.

The Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, has often been a significant flashpoint for violence, with serious clashes taking place there at the start of a wave of violence in October last year, which has seen at least 35 Israelis killed. The site, which is holy to both Jews and Muslims, is administered by the Jerusalem-based Islamic Waqf religious council. Although Jews are permitted to visit the Temple Mount in small groups, Israeli restrictions determine that they are not allowed to pray there for fear of subsequent violence.