An Islamic leader today called on his fellow Israeli Arabs - as well as Muslims around the world - to rise up in protest against Israeli construction work near a holy site in Jerusalem.
Fearing thousands might heed his call, Israeli police intensified their already tight security measures ahead of tomorrow's Muslim prayers at the site, adding travel restrictions and plans to send a helicopter hovering overhead.
The dispute centres on Israel's decision to begin repair work on an earthen ramp leading to the hilltop compound known as the Temple Mount to Jews and as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims.
The centuries-old ramp was damaged in a 2004 snowstorm, and Israeli authorities promised that its plan to replace it would not damage the holy site, about 60 metres away.
But Muslim leaders began protesting the work as soon as it started, and they called for wide-scale demonstrations to begin. "The aggression happening now is a tragedy, a crime," Raed Salah, a leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, told reporters. He accused Israel of declaring "a regional, religious war."
The site, home to the golden-capped Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa mosque, is especially important to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. Not only is it Islam's third-holiest site, from where they believe the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven, but it is also a focal point of their national pride.
The compound is also sacred to Jews as the site of their biblical temples. Israel has controlled the contentious compound since the 1967 Middle East War, but has left its administration largely to the Jordanian-controlled trust known as the Waqf and to the Palestinians.
When fighting broke out between Israel and the Palestinians in 2000, Israeli restrictions prevented many Palestinians from the West Bank from praying at Al Aqsa. Salah began bussing in Muslims from northern Israel to take their place, and his power at the site grew.
He also has taken a lead in demonstrating against perceived Israeli violations at the site, and is known by many Palestinians as the "Sheik of Al Aqsa." Salah, who spearheaded the new round of protests, called for a large demonstration in the Israeli Arab city of Nazareth tomorrow, which he declared "Al Aqsa Day."
"This is the first step to get all the Palestinians inside Israel energised to participate in the protests," he said, adding that he hoped Muslims around the world would join in protesting. The work near the site has been denounced by Muslim leaders abroad, and UNESCO issued a statement calling on Israel "to suspend any action that could endanger the spirit of mutual respect until such time as the will to dialogue prevails once again."
In an effort to resolve the dispute, Israeli politician Israel Hasson proposed installing cameras at the construction site and broadcasting the scene live on the internet so "all the Arab world would be able to see everything that goes on there." The Israel Antiquities Authority, which is carrying out the repair work and associated excavations, said it was looking into the idea, spokeswoman Osnat Goaz said. Adnan Husseini, chairman of the Waqf rejected the proposal as "ridiculous."