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AlJazeera, February 9 - Israel has deployed 3,000 police officers around Jerusalem's Old City ahead of Muslim prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, amid widespread Arab anger over Israeli excavation work nearby.

(Picture left - Demonstrations have taken place close to the al-Aqsa compound - AFP)

Ilan Franco, Jerusalem police chief, said officers were posted on Friday amid "intelligence indications" that disturbances could erupt.

Arab states say the work could damage the foundations of the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

Israeli authorities say the building work, begun on Tuesday, is being carried out to replace a centuries-old ramp 60 metres away.

'Day of anger'

A day of "anger" on the Muslim day of rest has been called by Tayssir al-Tamimi, the Palestinian chief justice, who on Tuesday called for "all Palestinians to go and protect al-Aqsa against Israeli plans that aim to destroy the mosque".

Thousands of Muslims regularly attend Friday prayers at the site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

For Jews it is the Temple Mount and the sacred site of their biblical temples.

International observers have said that the excavation work risks igniting a third Palestinian intifada [uprising] against Israel.

A controversial visit to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Israeli opposition, sparked the most recent intifada.

Restricted access

An Arab group at the United Nations appealed on Thursday to the UN security council to stop the excavation work.

In a statement, Arab ambassadors asked the Security Council "to take immediate and urgent measures to put an end to Israeli violations and to guarantee its respect for international law and security council resolutions".

They said in a statement they "denounced the Israeli occupation authority's escalation of its aggression on Islamic endowments in occupied East Jerusalem by starting to destroy a historic route."

'Provocation'

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has condemned the Israeli excavations as a provocation to Muslims.

Israeli officials have said some Muslim commentators are using the renovation work as a pretext to stoke anger against Israel.

Speaking during a visit to Spain on Thursday, Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, accused "political extremists" of trying to "exploit this situation".

Muslims believe the compound, home to the golden-capped Dome of the Rock shrine and al-Aqsa mosque, is where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Israel has controlled the compound since the 1967 Mideast War, but has left its administration largely to the Jordanian-controlled Waqf trust and the Palestinians. Agencies

Labels: al-Aqsa, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah