Israeli police install metal detectors at the entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2017. Under heavy police presence, Israel partly reopened a Jerusalem holy site on Sunday after taking an unusual step of closing it down following a deadly shooting attack, according to the police. (Xinhua/Muammar Awad)
JERUSALEM, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Under heavy police presence, Israel partly reopened a Jerusalem holy site on Sunday after taking an unusual step of closing it down following a deadly shooting attack, according to the police.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that "some 200 Muslim worshipers entered the site during the first 30 minutes and people are continuing to enter."
Members of Waqf, the Muslim custodians of the holy site, refused the new security checks at the site, Samri said.
On Saturday, Israel announced that the compound would be reopened after the police fortified the security measures there, including new metal detectors and CCTVs that were installed on poles and covers the entire compound.
Samri said that as a first step only residents of Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem, would be allowed. Samri said the entrance is currently allowed only through the Lions' Gate, where metal detectors have already been installed. More gates are expected to be opened, she added.
On Friday morning, three Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel opened fire near the gates of the compound, killing two Israeli policemen. The gunmen were subsequently shot and killed by the police.
The shootout sparked fears of a new round of violence in the region.
The al-Aqsa mosque compound, holy to both Muslims and Jews, in one of the most sensitive sites in the region. The flashpoint site is holy to both Muslims, who revered it as the Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews, who know it the Temple Mount.
