JERUSALEM (Reuters – Israeli riot officers faced off against fireworks-throwing Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday as a result of a Jewish visit to a disputed holy place that stoked tensions over the Muslim holy month Ramadan.

The violence that erupted at Al Aqsa mosque compound on Friday has raised concerns about deeper conflicts over the location, as Ramadan occurs in conjunction with Passover. Also, Christians observed Easter Sunday in Jerusalem.

The confrontations that took place on Sunday weren’t as violent but Israeli police reported that two passengers aboard buses were lightly injured when stone-throwing Palestinians crashed into their windows. According to police, nine persons were detained.

Palestinians claimed that Israeli police temporarily restricted their access to the compound after morning prayers. This was to allow Jews to visit the site under security.

They are prohibited from approaching Al Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest moschee. But Palestinians regard them as a threat.

East Jerusalem is home to the Old City, which Israel captured during a 1967 war. The Palestinians want it as their capital.

Abu Baker Shemi said that he saw two groups and that chanting started. The (Israeli) forces attempted to arrest me.” Abu Baker Shemi was a Muslim worshipper hailing from Acre in Israel, which is a Jewish-Arab community.

According to police, they had taken measures to stop the disturbance of the visitors by hundreds of demonstrators, including some masked protesters who were seen piling rocks onto the compound. Police stated that Muslims were allowed to worship as they wish.

Tensions about Jerusalem led to an eleven-day conflict between Israel and Hamas Islamist militants from the Gaza Strip. This 11-day war killed over 250 Palestinians and injured 13 Israelis.

Hamas declared in a statement “continued attacks on worshippers (Israeli) will backfire.”

According to the Palestinian Authority (which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank), the Al Aqsa events had “unified” Palestinians.