Non-Muslims denied visits to Temple Mount

JERUSALEM — Israeli police have suspended controversial visits by non-Muslims to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary or Haram al-Sharif.

Palestinian officials, among them Yasser Arafat, warned there would be “grave consequences” if Israel allowed Jews to visit the site.

Visits to the site, which resumed earlier despite Palestinian protests, have been halted amid fears of rising Palestinian anger and rioting. An Israeli police spokesman declined to say when the site would be reopened, citing “operational reasons” for suspending tours, the newspaper Ha’aretz reported. Fearing Palestinian protests, police barred Muslims under the age of 40 from last Friday’s prayers.

Holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, the Temple Mount was a popular tourist destination prior to its closure in 2000, when violence erupted after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the site.

In recent weeks, Israel began quietly allowing small groups of tourists, accompanied by armed guards, to again visit the site, third holiest in Islam following Mecca and Medina.