Ramallah, November 26 (RHC)-- An Israeli driver has run over two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, killing one and injuring another. Palestinian security sources said on Tuesday that an Israeli bus hit two Palestinians near the al-Jalama checkpoint in Jenin, killing 22-year-old Noor Hassan Naim Salim and wounding 20-year-old Alaa Kayid Salim. The Israeli police says the bus driver was detained.

Over the past several weeks, the occupied West Bank has been the scene of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces over the al-Aqsa Mosque. Some Jewish settlers have been urging the Israeli regime to allow them to pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Palestinians are extremely angry at such provocative acts, considering them as part of Israel's plan to Judaize and desecrate the holy Islamic site.

Palestinians argue that Jerusalem is the capital of a future Palestinian independent state, and that its heritage should remain intact. Over the past decades, Israel has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.

The al-Aqsa compound, which lies in the Israeli-occupied Old City of Jerusalem, is a flashpoint. The location of the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism, while the mosque is Islam's third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.