DHAKA: A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has described the closure of a disputed Jerusalem holy site as a ‘declaration of war’.

The move came amid tension after the shooting of a Jewish activist. Israel’s PM called for calm, saying Abbas was responsible for escalating tensions, reports the BBC.

Yehuda Glick, a campaigner for greater Jewish prayer rights at the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif, was wounded.

Israeli police later killed a Palestinian suspected of shooting him.

The man, named as 32-year-old Moataz Hejazi, was shot after opening fire when police surrounded his home.

Rabbi Glick is a well-known US-born campaigner for the right of Jews to pray at the site, which they are currently prohibited from doing.

The compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.

It is the holiest site in Judaism, and also contains the al-Aqsa Mosque - the third holiest site in Islam.

BDST: 2108 HRS, OCT 30, 2014