Jerusalem - Israel on Sunday reopened the Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount compound to all Muslim worshippers and other visitors after two weeks of partial restrictions, a police spokesman said. Mickey Rosenfeld said the situation had returned to the calm that prevailed before tensions over the compound erupted two weeks ago.
Riots by Palestinian Muslims began after rumours spread that Israeli settlers were seeking to re-inauguarate the biblical Jewish temple at the site which is also houses the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
During the tensions, Israeli authorities allowed only Muslim males over 50 and women of all ages who were residents of East Jerusalem into the compound in order to prevent outbreak of riots.
Under an agreement reached Saturday night, Israel also agreed to allow 400 Muslims who had barricaded themselves in the compound since the beginning of the tensions, to leave without being arrested.
The deal was brokered by the Jordanian ambassador to Israel.
Tensions in Jerusalem have been high since September 27, when rumours spread on the eve of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday that Jews were trying to take over the compound.
The site is the third holiest in Islam, because according to tradition it marks the spot from where the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. But it is also the most sacred in Judaism, as it contains the ruins of the Jewish Biblical Temple.
The rumours of a Jewish take-over of the Temple Mount spread after a group of French tourists made a pre-arranged, organized tour of the site under Israeli police escort.
