Police on high alert at disputed Jerusalem shrine

[October 26, 2009]  JERUSALEM (AP) -- Hundreds of Israeli police are patrolling Jerusalem's most volatile shrine, a day after fierce clashes with Palestinian protesters.

The hilltop compound claimed by both Arabs and Jews was quiet Monday, but there was a massive police presence on high alert.

On Sunday, officers armed with batons and stun grenades faced off against masked Palestinians hurling rocks and plastic chairs.

Conflicting claims to the plateau, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, lie at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

In the past, even low-level scuffles there have degenerated into drawn-out conflicts.

Israel has controlled the site since 1967, but has left day-to-day administration to a Muslim clerical body.

[Associated Press]

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