Tensions ran high at a disputed Jerusalem holy place on Friday as Palestinians gathered for Muslim prayers under tight Israeli security.

Nearly 3,000 Israeli police and soldiers deployed in and around Jerusalem’s Old City as Israel reopened the Mosque of Al Aqsa, the site Jews call the Temple Mount. The ancient compound marks the holiest place in Judaism and third holiest in Islam, and it is a flashpoint of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel closed the mosque Thursday amid growing unrest, after police killed a suspected Palestinian gunman in a nearby Arab neighborhood. The suspect had allegedly shot and critically wounded a right-wing Israeli rabbi, who advocates Jewish prayers at the disputed holy place and even the rebuilding of the biblical Temple there.  

Palestinians called for a “day of rage” on Friday, so in a bid to prevent further riots, Israel barred Palestinian men under the age of 50 from entering the Al Aqsa compound.

Abu Ibrahim is one of the East Jerusalem Palestinians who was turned away from the mosque by police.

He said the heavy Israeli security presence is only making the situation worse. He warned that if Palestinians are denied freedom of worship the situation will explode.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the crackdown, saying riots in Jerusalem will not be tolerated.

Netanyahu blamed radical Islamic elements and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for what he described as a “wave of incitement” to violence. He said Israel will do whatever is necessary to restore calm.

There were sporadic clashes between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli forces after Friday prayers in Jerusalem and the West Bank, but the heavy security presence and a steady rain kept the violence in check.  

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged both sides to “exercise restraint…and preserve the historic status quo” at the Mosque of al-Aqsa and Temple Mount.

 
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