Israeli police closed the entrances to Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site after Palestinian suspects threw a firebomb at a police station on Tuesday. The rare closure drew angry reactions across the Muslim world.
Police later announced that the Temple Mount would reopen to worshippers and visitors Wednesday morning.
There were no injuries reported from the firebombing. Police quickly deployed across the hilltop compound in search of the assailants. Two Palestinian minors were arrested in ensuing scuffles with police.
The incident further heightened tensions at the flashpoint site, home to Al-Aqsa mosque and the gold-topped Dome of the Rock.
Police also restricted entrance to the Old City, home to Jerusalem's most important religious sites, allowing only residents to pass through certain entrances to the Muslim and Christian quarters.
Firas Dibs, spokesman for the waqf, the Jordanian-appointed Islamic body that administers the site, said police had cleared nearly all worshippers from the compound. "All doors are closed and no one is allowed in," he said.
Several dozen worshippers gathered just outside the compound for impromptu prayers as Israeli police stood watch.
Police confirmed two arrests, while Dibs said six people had been arrested and 10 others injured in scuffles with police.
The United Nations Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, urged both sides to "respect the status quo" at the holy esplanade and exercise restraint "to avoid inflaming an already tense situation."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the "dangerous Israeli escalation" and warned of "serious repercussions." In a statement, he called on the international community to intervene.
The closure of the sacred compound also drew censure from Jordan, the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. Abdul Nasser Abu Basal, Jordanian minister of Islamic affairs and holy sites, described the barring of Muslim worshippers from the site as "a flagrant assault on all religious values, rights and freedom," and "an attack on all Muslims that touches the entire Islamic nation."
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu lashed out at Israel over the incident, saying it was time to end the country's "recklessness."
"We cannot accept such reckless attacks on holy sites and the whole world needs to react against it," the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Çavuşoğlu as saying.
The holy site has experienced a series of tense standoffs in recent weeks after Muslim worshippers reopened an area known as the "Gate of Mercy," closed by Israel in 2003 because it was being used by a heritage group with Hamas affiliations.
The waqf contends that because the heritage group is now defunct, the council should regain full access to the building like any other in the holy esplanade.
Demonstrations have devolved into standoffs with police in recent weeks. Israel has barred several high-ranking waqf officials from the site and police have arrested dozens of Palestinians under suspicions of inciting violence at the site.
Officials in Jordan have confirmed that they are in negotiations with Israel to resolve the dispute. Abbas' office said the Palestinians also were in touch with various sides, including Jordan.
