Islamic leaders have called on Muslims to boycott the Jerusalem holy site after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors at the compound gates. Police boosted security there after a deadly attack last week.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/M. Alkharouf
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Muslim worshippers held prayers outside the sacred complex on Monday, instead of passing through the gates, in a show of protest against the new security measures.
The hilltop in Jerusalem's Old City, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary (Haram al-Sharif), has often been a flashpoint for hostility between Israelis and Palestinians. Any perceived changes to how the site is managed can spark tensions.
Israel closed the site for the first time in decades on Friday after three Arab Israeli citizens opened fire in the compound, killing two police officers before being shot dead by security forces. The decision to shut the compound for Friday prayers sparked angry protests from Jordan, the custodian of the Muslim-administered site, and from Palestinians.
Israeli border police stand guard at the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's Old City following last week's deadly shootingImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Illean
Call to boycott
The Waqf, Jordan's Islamic authority that manages religious affairs at the site, responded by calling on the faithful to "reject and boycott all the Israeli aggression measures, including changing the historical status quo including imposing the metal detectors."
In a statement issued with other Islamic groups, it urged Muslims "not to enter the mosque through" the detectors but to "pray in front of the gates of the mosque and in the streets of Jerusalem."
Several hundred people appeared to heed those calls, attending midday prayers on Monday outside the site's two main entrances.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the security measures would remain in place to "ensure and prevent further incidents or attacks."
Temple Mount in Jerusalem reopens
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Jerusalem police commissioner Yoram Halevy said the metal detectors were necessary for the site to reopen.
"I assume that with time they will understand that this is not terrible," he told Army Radio. "When I go shopping on Friday I pass through a detector at the mall…We see them everywhere they have become a part of our lives."
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and the nearby Western Wall is the holiest place where Jews can pray. Home to the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, it is Islam's third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Focus of tensions
Israel seized East Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa is located, in the Six Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move that was never recognized by the international community.
Although the site has seen frequent clashes and protests, gun attacks there are rare.
Jerusalem is still in the grip of a series of Palestinian street attacks that began in 2015, although the violence has slowed. Since September 2015, Palestinian attackers have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist. Israeli forces have killed more than 254 Palestinians in that time, with authorities describing most of the dead as attackers.
Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017
The city of Jerusalem has been one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. DW compares the city in 1967, during the Six-Day War, with how it looks 50 years on.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Mount of Olives today
The old City Wall and the gold-domed Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock, are visible in the background from the mountain ridge which lies to the east of the Old City. The Old Jewish Cemetery, situated on the western and southern slopes of the ridge, are in an area once named for its many olive groves. It is the oldest continually used Jewish cemetery in the world.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Mount of Olives then
If it weren't for the ancient Ottoman city wall and the shrine in the background, viewers might not realize this is the same site. The picture was taken on June 7th, 1967, when the peak was this brigade's command post at the height of the Six-Day War, or Arab-Israeli War.
Image: Government Press Office/REUTERS
Al-Aqsa mosque today
Al-Aqsa, with its silver-colored dome and vast hall, is located on Temple Mount. Muslims call the mosque the "Noble Sanctuary," but it is also the most sacred site in Judaism, a place where two biblical temples were believed to have stood. As well, it is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam, after Mecca and Medina. There have long been tensions over control of the entire Temple Mount area.
Image: Reuters/A. Awad
Al-Aqsa mosque then
The name Al-Aqsa translates to "the farthest mosque." It is also Jerusalem's biggest mosque. Israel has strict control over the area after conquering all of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, and regaining access to its religious sites. Leaders at the time agreed that the Temple Mount would be administered by an Islamic religious trust known as the Waqf.
Image: Reuters/
Damascus Gate today
The historic Gate, named in English for the fact that the road from there heads north to Damascus, is a busy main entrance to Palestinian East Jerusalem, and to a bustling Arab bazaar. Over the past two years, it has frequently been the site of security incidents and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Damascus Gate then
The gate itself - what we see today was built by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1537 - looks much the same in this July 1967 picture. Seven Gates allow entrance to the Old City and its separate quarters.
Image: Reuters/
Old City today
Jerusalem's vibrant Old City, a UNESCO world Heritage Site since 1981, is home to sites important to many different religions: the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque for Muslims, Temple Mount and the Western Wall for Jews, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians. Busy and colorful, it is a great place for shopping and food, and a top attraction for visitors.
Image: Reuters/A. Awad
Old City then
This picture was taken in July 1967, but 50 years later, some things in the Old City haven't changed at all. Boys like the one in the photo balancing a tray of sesame pastries - called bagels - still roam the streets of the Old City today, hawking the sweet breads sprinkled with sesame seeds for about a euro ($1.12) apiece.
Image: Reuters/Fritz Cohen/Courtesy of Government Press Office
Western Wall today
This section of ancient limestone wall in Jerusalem's Old City is the western support wall of the Temple Mount. It is the most religious site for Jewish people, who come here to pray and perhaps to place a note in a crack in the wall. There is a separate section for men and for women, but it is free and open to everyone all year round - after the obligatory security check.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Western Wall then
The Western Wall is also known as the 'Wailing' Wall, a term considered derogatory and not used by Jews. The above photo of people flocking to the Wall to pray was taken on September 1, 1967, just weeks after Israel regained control of the site following the Six-Day-War. It had been expelled from the Old City 19 years earlier during Jordan's occupation.
