Reopening the Mount

The BBC has another article about the Middle East:

Israeli police have reopened a key Jerusalem holy site after its closure amid tensions following the shooting of a prominent right-wing Jewish activist.
The Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif (photo, top) was reopened ahead of Muslim Friday prayers, but with restrictions on worshippers as a security measure.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian suspected of wounding Rabbi Yehuda Glick has been buried in East Jerusalem (photo, bottom).
There has been an escalation of tension in the city in recent weeks. A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas described Israel's temporary closure of the holy site as a "declaration of war". The compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif,  is the holiest site in Judaism, and contains the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
The site was reopened to Muslim worshippers on Friday morning, with entry to men restricted to those over 50 amid fears of unrest after Friday prayers
There has been a recent upsurge in clashes between Palestinians and police in East Jerusalem. On Thursday night, hundreds of people gathered for the funeral of Moataz Hejazi amid a heavy police presence. The burial passed off without incident, police said.
Hejazi, 32, was shot after opening fire when police surrounded his home, officials said. He was suspected of having attacked Rabbi Glick as he left a conference on Jewish claims to the Jerusalem holy site.
Rabbi Glick is a well-known campaigner for the right of Jews to pray at the site, which is currently prohibited. He was seriously wounded and on a life-support machine in a Jerusalem hospital.
On Wednesday night, there were clashes in the neighborhood of Abu Tor between police and Palestinians protesting against the killing of Hejazi. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets against stone-throwing youths. Hejazi's cousin alleges that he was shot by police after being detained within his house. Israeli police say he was killed after he began shooting at police, who then opened fire in response. "They took him upstairs, and then they shot him", Moataz Hejazi's cousin said
Secretary of State John Kerry said he was "extremely concerned" by the escalation in tensions and had urged Israel to reopen the holy site. "It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in word and in practice", he said.

Analysis by the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem:
On Fridays, the holy day of Islam, prayers are often a time of heightened sensitivity, especially since this latest escalation of tension surrounds the familiar dispute about the rights to worship at a site around the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City sacred in both Islam and Judaism.
A delicate status quo governs rights of access to al-Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. Israel captured the Old City in 1967, but swiftly handed control of the compound back to Islamic religious authorities, fearful of triggering a Holy War.
Israel's security forces do impose restrictions, such as banning men under the age of fifty from worshipping on occasion, but argue that is about maintaining order.
Jews are allowed to visit the site, but not to pray there. Now some right-wing religious groups say Jews should be allowed to pray, a demand which causes anger and unease in the Muslim world.
If it all sounds familiar, well, that is because it is. When Britain governed the Holy Land in 1929, a very similar dispute provoked rioting that led to widespread loss of life.
Known as the Temple Mount to Jews and al-Haram al-Sharif to Muslims, it comprises the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and is next to the Western Wall. The Western Wall, dating from the time of the second Jewish Biblical temple, is the holiest site where Jews can pray; the Dome of the Rock, where, according to Jewish tradition, the Ark of the Covenant rested in the first temple, is the holiest site in Judaism.
The al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam; the Dome of the Rock is revered by Muslims because of its connections to the Prophet Muhammad. Christians also venerate the site because of its Biblical links to Jesus.
A Muslim committee has managed the compound since the time of the Crusades, while Israel, which has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, controls access.
Israel maintains a ban on prayer by non-Muslims at the compound as a security measure
Rabbi Yehuda Glick has campaigned for the right of Jews to pray at the site.
Some districts of East Jerusalem have seen nightly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces since the Gaza conflict last summer.
A Jewish baby and Ecuadorian woman were killed when a Palestinian attacker drove his car into a group of pedestrians in Jerusalem last week.

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