Israelis, Palestinians clash near holy site

JERUSALEM — Israeli police stormed a disputed holy site Monday, hurling stun grenades to disperse hundreds of Palestinian worshippers who stoned police and Jewish visitors.

The confrontation erupted as Israel marked "Jerusalem Day," the anniversary, according to the Jewish calendar, of its capture of traditionally Arab east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The disputed site, the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, is in east Jerusalem, claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital.

Also Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told a parliament committee the military would forcibly disarm settlers to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank this summer if they don't turn in their weapons, participants in the closed-door meeting said.

Mofaz also said he would urge settlers to evacuate their children before the withdrawal begins in mid-August to spare them traumatic sights. "I urge them not to allow their children to be involved in any aspect of the evacuation," he said after the session of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Responding to a question, Mofaz said the pullout would "not take place under fire. We will do everything possible to coordinate the disengagement with the Palestinians."

A Palestinian security official said Monday that the Palestinians are recruiting 5,600 police to provide security during the evacuation, and that their duties will include preventing attacks on Israelis.

"The plan includes protecting any installations or houses or facilities that Israel leaves, and to prevent any action from the Palestinian factions," said Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa. He said the Palestinian forces are ready to coordinate their actions with Israel or act on their own.

An official who attended Mofaz's parliamentary meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mofaz has asked the Palestinians to place a large force near settlements to prevent militant attacks during the pullout.

Israel and the Palestinians have pledged to cooperate during the withdrawal but have taken few concrete steps.

The Palestinians said the Israelis were to hand over maps of Jewish settlements in Gaza.

"The Israelis promised to hand over the inventory, not just of the settlements themselves, but also of things like water, and we hope that will happen at this evening's meeting," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Palestinian officials say they need the infrastructure plans to prepare for the post-Israel era in Gaza. Palestinian officials have complained that Israel was late on the promised handover of the maps.