Israeli Police, Muslim Rioters Clash

By DIAA HADID

JERUSALEM -

Anger over Israeli construction to repair a damaged ramp near a disputed Jerusalem holy site erupted into violence Friday as police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of rioting Muslims. Protests spread across the Arab world, with demonstrators accusing Israel of plotting to harm Islamic shrines.Israeli officials accused Palestinians of distorting the project to rally their fractious population against the Jewish state.

They insist that the replacement of the ramp, which was damaged in a 2004 snowstorm, would not harm the holy site about 200 feet away."We have nothing to hide and yet extremist elements with a hateful agenda have cynically provoked violence by deliberately spreading mistruths about what we're doing," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.Known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, the compound has repeatedly been a flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and there were fears the unrest could spread.

The compound is home to the golden-capped Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa mosque and is believed to be the site where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Jews venerate the compound as the site of their biblical temples, and one of its outer walls _ known as the Western Wall _ is the holiest site in Judaism.

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