Friday Muslim prayers on Temple Mount in Jerusalem are expected to be tense as tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs are set to arrive through metal detectors put up by Israeli police this week.
The additional layer of security was installed following the killing of two police officers on Temple Mount last Friday in an attack by Israeli-Arab citizens.
The two patrol officers, Hael Sathawi and Kamil Shnaan, were killed at 7am when three young men from the northern town of Umm el-Fahm arrived at the Temple Mount gates carrying two makeshift sub-machine guns and opened fire.
They were pursued by police and shot dead nearby. The attackers are not known to have been affiliated with any terrorist organisation but are believed to have been radicalised at a mosque in their home town where preachers have regularly warned that "Al-Aqsa [mosque] is in danger".
Following the attack, the Israeli government imposed a 48-hour closure on the Temple Mount (Haram a-Sharif) compound, the first such closure in nearly five decades.
Despite warnings from Arab leaders that the closures would cause unrest, the area was opened up on Sunday without incident. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also held a rare phone conversation in which they agreed to work together to try to keep the calm around Jerusalem.
The move by Israeli police, however, to erect metal detectors in alleyways leading to the compound's gates, was met with more staunch opposition. Israel insisted they were for the security of all visitors to Temple Mount and did not constitute a change in the "status quo", whereby the Muslim Waqf religious council is in control of the compound itself. The Waqf objected to the metal detectors, claiming they were a sign of Israeli sovereignty. They also claimed that the new arrangements would make entry impossible for the large number of people coming to pray at the mosque.
The Waqf called upon Muslims not to enter Haram a-Sharif until the metal detectors had been removed, and a number of clashes broke out between Palestinian youths and police officers.
So far, the clashes have not spread beyond Temple Mount to the rest of Jerusalem and the West Bank, but the real test will come on Friday as tens of thousands are expected to arrive.
The Waqf have called on mosques in Jerusalem to remain closed and for all Muslims to arrive at Haram a-Sharif instead. Behind the scenes, Israeli officials have been trying to work with the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and other Arab governments to find a compromise.
Mr Netanyahu told reporters accompanying him on his trip to Europe that he was against any changes in the "status quo", including allowing Jews to pray on Temple Mount. Police allow Jews to visit the site, but they are evicted if seen to be praying. On Wednesday, Jewish visits were stopped, according to the police, because some visitors tried to bring in prayer-books.
