In recent weeks, Palestinian protests have gathered momentum against a campaign by far-right Jews to be allowed to pray where ancient Jewish temples once stood.<br /><br />Last week Israel briefly shut down all access, in the same area, to what are also Jerusalem’s holiest sites to Muslims — the Dome of the Rock and the 8th-century al-Aqsa mosque — after a Palestinian gunman shot an Israeli ultra-nationalist, severely wounding him. <br /><br />The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, visiting Jerusalem, said: “Exactly because there is a risk of growing tensions and going back to dramatic experiences we need, desperately need, to move the political dialogue forward.” <br /><br />Palestinian drivers have also rammed pedestrians in Jerusalem, killing four people. The drivers were shot dead. <br /><br />Israel’s prime minister blamed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, saying he had urged Palestinians to keep Jews away from Temple Mount.<br /><br />Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The ramming in Jerusalem is a direct result of the incitement by Abu Mazen [Abbas] and his partners in Hamas. We are in a continuous battle over Jerusalem, which I have no doubt we will win.” <br /><br />The religious advisor to President Abbas, Mahmoud al-Habash, said: “The continuation of this invasion of al-Aqsa Mosque is a warning of religious war. Maybe some people don’t know what a religious war means. A religious war means that every Israeli becomes a direct enemy of every Muslim around the world.” <br /><br />For decades, Israel has maintained a precautionary ban on Jews praying at the al-Aqsa and Temple Mount site. <br /><br />With the increase in violent clashes, experts now say the conditions are ripe for a renewed intifada, or popular uprising against Israeli authority.<br /><br />Intifadas took place from 1987 till 1991 and from 2000 to 2005.<br /><br />The Second Intifada burst from a visit seen as provocative by then leader of the opposition Likud party Ariel Sharon to the same sensitive site in Jerusalem. <br /><br />Illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank also bring grief.<br /><br />Just over two weeks ago, Palestinians accused an Israeli settler there of a hit and run drive killing of a five-year-old girl. <br /><br />According to United Nations reports, incidents of settler violence against Palestinians have almost quadrupled since 2006.
