A small bomb went off near an Israeli police patrol in Jerusalem on Friday, as Palestinians threatened retaliation for an Israeli helicopter strike that killed a prominent militia leader, reported The Associated Press Friday.
The agency added that the explosion just outside the walled Old City slightly injured a policeman, one of thousands deployed to prevent friction after noon prayers at a main flashpoint, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest shrine of Islam.
Police have since the outbreak of the Intifada banned Muslim men under the age of 45 from entering the mosque compound in an attempt to prevent possible rioting after the services.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister said on Friday that he was “pessimistic about the chances of re-launching the political process with the Palestinians after,” his “meeting with Clinton." He added at a military base near the West Bank town of Ramallah that "my purpose in Washington will be above all to stop the violence," reported AFP, quoting his spokesman David Ziso.
Six weeks of unrest started after hard-line Israeli politician Ariel Sharon visited the contested compound, also the site of the biblical Jewish Temples, said the paper.
The six-week violence left about 190 Palestinians dead, as counted by Albawaba.com, and thousands injured – (Several Sources)
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