Israeli troops patrol in front of Dome of the Rock after clashes inside al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem yesterday. Israeli police fired stun grenades at stone-throwing worshippers yesterday around al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, as Palestinian anger over Israeli excavations near the site burst into violence. - Reuters

JERUSALEM (AP):

Anger over Israeli construction near a disputed Jerusalem holy site erupted into violence yesterday as Israeli police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of rioting Muslim worshippers on the grounds of Islam's third-holiest site.

Protests spread across the Muslim world, with Arabs in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan demonstrating against the construction, and Indonesia calling on Israel to halt all work at the site, saying it could exacerbate Mideast tensions.

Israeli officials accused Pales-tinians of distorting the project to repair a damaged ramp leading to the holy site in order to rally their fractious population against Israel.

"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.

The compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, has repeatedly been a flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and there were fears the violence 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.

Exploded on Friday

Small protests against the renovation began as soon as work started earlier this week. They exploded into violence after Friday prayers when Muslim worshippers at the compound began throwing rocks at police forces stationed outside, according to Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby.

About 200 riot police streamed onto the compound, scuffling with some of the 3,000 worshippers at the compound, some of them middle-age or elderly. Clouds of tear gas rose up at the holy site and stun grenades set off sharp booms.