Al-Aqsa mosque: 'More than 150' injured as Israeli police clash with Palestinians

More than 150 people have reportedly been injured in clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam.

Video showed officers using tear gas and stun grenades to disperse a crowd, which police said was throwing stones and firecrackers.

At least 152 Palestinians were hurt, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service.

Thousands of worshippers were gathered at the mosque, two weeks into Ramadan and with tensions high after a string of attacks.

Israeli police entered the area shortly after early morning prayers, said the Islamic endowment that administers the site.

It said one guard was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.

More than 80 people were arrested, the mosque's director Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani told Palestine TV.

Israel's foreign ministry said dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags had marched to the mosque compound.

"Police were forced to enter the grounds to disperse the crowd and remove the stones and rocks, in order to prevent further violence," it tweeted.

Israeli police said there were "hundreds of rioting demonstrators who continuously threw stones and fireworks at the police forces deployed in the area".

It said at least three officers had been injured and that it was forced to act after rocks were thrown towards the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum described the violence as "brutal attacks by the Israeli occupation soldiers against the worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque".

Palestinians view any large police deployment at Al-Aqsa as a major provocation.

The mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is built on a hilltop that is the most sacred site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.

It has been a major flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence for decades. Clashes there last year helped spark an 11-day war with militants in the Gaza Strip.

Passover, Ramadan and Easter coincide this year and millions of Jews, Muslims and Christians are expected in Jerusalem over the next few days.

Israel has recently suffered one of its worst series of attacks for years, with 14 people killed and scores injured in various cities.

Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said they were carried out by a mix of Palestinians, Arab-Israelis and Bedouin.

In response, Israeli arrests and raids in the occupied West Bank have killed at least 25 Palestinians.

Many had carried out attacks or were involved in the unrest, but the dead also include an unarmed woman and a lawyer who appears to have been killed by mistake.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday that a 17-year-old had died from wounds sustained in the West Bank city of Jenin the day before.