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| Contested Holy Site in Jerusalem Reopens for Muslim Worship | Contested Holy Site in Jerusalem Reopens for Muslim Worship |
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| JERUSALEM — This city’s most contested sacred site reopened for Muslim worship Friday morning after an extremely rare daylong closing that the Israeli authorities said was to prevent further unrest amid escalating hostilities. Israeli police officers were out in force and restricted access to the site, barring men under 50, and dawn prayers passed without incident. | JERUSALEM — This city’s most contested sacred site reopened for Muslim worship Friday morning after an extremely rare daylong closing that the Israeli authorities said was to prevent further unrest amid escalating hostilities. Israeli police officers were out in force and restricted access to the site, barring men under 50, and dawn prayers passed without incident. |
| The authorities were bracing for clashes after noon prayers. Palestinian leaders called for a “day of rage” because of the closing on Thursday and the killing by Israeli forces of a Palestinian man suspected in the assassination attempt on Wednesday night against Yehuda Glick. Mr. Glick is a right-wing activist who promoted increased Jewish access and prayer at the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. | The authorities were bracing for clashes after noon prayers. Palestinian leaders called for a “day of rage” because of the closing on Thursday and the killing by Israeli forces of a Palestinian man suspected in the assassination attempt on Wednesday night against Yehuda Glick. Mr. Glick is a right-wing activist who promoted increased Jewish access and prayer at the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. |
| More than 1,000 Palestinians lined up in five long rows at Al Aksa Mosque, one of two Islamic shrines on the revered plateau, around 5 a.m. Friday for the first of the five daily supplications. Some older men sat on plastic chairs, and one in a wheelchair, unable to bow or kneel. | More than 1,000 Palestinians lined up in five long rows at Al Aksa Mosque, one of two Islamic shrines on the revered plateau, around 5 a.m. Friday for the first of the five daily supplications. Some older men sat on plastic chairs, and one in a wheelchair, unable to bow or kneel. |
| “May Allah deny his mercy to those who prevent us from entering Al Aksa,” the imam said. | “May Allah deny his mercy to those who prevent us from entering Al Aksa,” the imam said. |
| The site, where ancient Jewish temples once stood, is the holiest in Judaism, the third holiest in Islam, and is also sacred to Christians as Jesus worshiped there. Israel seized it with the rest of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, but it immediately handed back control of everything but security at the site to the Islamic Waqf, which is run by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. | |
| A small band of religious Jews, including Mr. Glick, a 48-year-old Israeli-American who was seriously wounded by four gunshots on Wednesday night, have agitated in recent years against Israel’s prohibition of non-Muslim prayer at the site, with some calling for a third temple to be erected there. Palestinian, Jordanian, and other Arab and Islamic leaders have warned that this could lead to a holy war, and clashes between worshipers and security forces have become more frequent. | |
| The site is the most sensitive in a deeply divided city that has been roiled by tension and violence since the start of summer. A spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, called the closing on Thursday “a declaration of war.” | |
| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has tried to calm the situation by making clear that he has no intention of changing the status quo in the city’s holy sites, and by adding 1,000 police officers to Jerusalem’s streets in recent days. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has tried to calm the situation by making clear that he has no intention of changing the status quo in the city’s holy sites, and by adding 1,000 police officers to Jerusalem’s streets in recent days. |
| Israel Radio reported that one of Israel’s chief rabbis met on Thursday with a leading Islamic cleric and that the two had called for freedom of prayer and an end to the “cycle of blood.” | Israel Radio reported that one of Israel’s chief rabbis met on Thursday with a leading Islamic cleric and that the two had called for freedom of prayer and an end to the “cycle of blood.” |
| Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, wrote in a text message Friday morning that the situation was “quiet,” adding: “Strong police force on the ground.” | Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, wrote in a text message Friday morning that the situation was “quiet,” adding: “Strong police force on the ground.” |
| As the sun rose, about 30 young men drank coffee at the Lion’s Gate leading to the Old City, in front of a crowd of police officers who had blocked their entry to the compound. | As the sun rose, about 30 young men drank coffee at the Lion’s Gate leading to the Old City, in front of a crowd of police officers who had blocked their entry to the compound. |