Clashes by Jerusalem Holy Site Continue

An Israeli police officer, right, calls for reinforcements during clashes with Palestinian stone throwers in the narrow alleyways of east Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. (Oded Balilty - AP)

JERUSALEM -- Sporadic Palestinian protests, including a rock-throwing attack on a busload of Canadian tourists, broke out in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Saturday over Israel's construction of a ramp leading to a flashpoint holy site.

The demonstrations came the day after Israeli police raided the mosque compound, firing tear gas and stun grenades at rioting Muslims. Protests have spread throughout the world as Muslim leaders accused Israel of trying to damage the Islamic shrines.

Israel denies the repair work will come anywhere near the holy site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

In Jerusalem, a few dozen Palestinian teenagers threw stones at Israeli security forces at the walled Old City, burning an Israeli flag at one point. At the Mount of Olives holy site, Palestinians pelted a Canadian tour bus, but no one was injured.

"We were just driving and all of a sudden a bunch of kids started picking up rocks and whatever they could get their hands on and started throwing it at the bus," said Dave Wood, one of the tourists. "This is our first day in the Holy City and it was quite disturbing to say the least."

Israeli police arrested a total of 17 protesters in the Jerusalem protests that were "relatively quiet," police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said. The Israeli crews did not work on the ramp Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, dozens of Palestinian youths threw rocks at Israeli soldiers guarding a checkpoint into Jerusalem. The soldiers detained 30 protesters, the army said.

In a similar protest in the West Bank city of Hebron, police responded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. No injuries were reported in either demonstration.

In anticipation of further protests in Jerusalem on Sunday when the work will resume, police will maintain a beefed-up force and restrictions at the mosque compound, barring all Muslim men under the age of 45 from praying there, Ben-Ruby said.

On Friday, about 200 riot police streamed onto the compound shooting stun grenades and tear gas when some of the 3,000 Muslim worshippers there threw rocks at them. Clouds of tear gas rose into the sky and sharp booms pierced the air.

The compound _ a catalyst for earlier rounds of Israel-Palestinian fighting _ is home to the third holiest site in Islam and is believed to be the site where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Jews venerate the compound as the site of their biblical temples, and one of its outer walls _ known as the Western Wall _ is the holiest site in Judaism.