Clashes erupt in Jerusalem

Closing Temple Mount a declaration of war: Palestine Prez

Jerusalem: Israeli police on Thursday shot dead a 32-year-old Palestinian man suspected of having tried hours earlier to kill a far-right Jewish activist, leading to fierce clashes in East Jerusalem and fears of a new Palestinian uprising.

The Al-Aqsa compound, or Temple Mount, which is a central cause of the latest violence, was closed to all visitors as a security precaution. It was the first full closure of the site, venerated by both Jews and Muslims, in 14 years Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Israeli actions as "tantamount to a declaration of war". Moataz Hejazi`s body lay in a pool of blood among satellite dishes on the rooftop of a three-storey house in Abu Tor, a district of Arab East Jerusalem, as Israeli forces sealed the area and repelled stone-throwing Palestinian protesters. Hejazi was suspected of shooting and wounding Yehuda Glick, a far-right religious activist who has led a campaign for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa compound.Glick, a U.S.-born settler, was shot as he left a conference at the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre in Jerusalem late on Wednesday, his assailant escaping on the back of a motorcycle.

A spokesman for the centre said Hejazi had worked at a restaurant there. Glick, 48, remains in serious but stable condition with four gunshot wounds, doctors said.