Israel's former foreign minister warns of holy war with Muslim world

Israel's former foreign minister has warned Israel is on the verge of a holy war with the Muslim world.

Tzipi Livni said tactical differences over security measures at a holy site in Jerusalem have deteriorated into something far worse and could result in a religious battle.

On Monday, Ms Livni told Israel's Army Radio: "We are a step away from turning our conflict with the Palestinians, and cooperation with Jordan and other Sunni nations, into a pan-Muslim event against the state of Israel."

She said the Israeli cabinet needed to show leadership to prevent such a conflict from happening.

Israel's security cabinet decided to remove the metal detectors at entry points to the shrine, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

They are to be replaced by "smart cameras" to monitor worshippers, with increased Israeli security forces in the area until the plan is implemented.

But Rami Hamdallah, the Palestinian Prime Minister, and the senior Muslim cleric who oversees the holy compound both turned down the new Israeli measures and demanded all of them be removed.

"We reject all obstacles that hinder freedom of worship and we demand the return to the situation where things stood before July 14," Mr Hamdallah told his cabinet in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Waqf, the religious body that runs the Islamic sites in the al-Aqsa compound, said worshippers would continue to stay away from the elevated, marble-and-stone plaza and pray in the streets outside.

The installation of the metal detectors set off widespread protests and deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence over the past week. Large crowds of Muslim worshippers prayed outside the shrine in protest every day, refusing to pass through the metal detectors.

At least four Palestinians were killed in street clashes, while three Israeli settlers were stabbed to death in their West Bank home.

On Sunday, two Jordanians were killed by an Israeli guard after one attacked him with a screwdriver at the Israeli embassy in Jordan.

While the metal detectors are being dismantled, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Muslims across the world to "visit" and "protect" Jerusalem.

"From here I make a call to all Muslims. Anyone who has the opportunity should visit Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa mosque,” Mr Erdogan said in Ankara.

“Come, let’s all protect Jerusalem," he added.

Additional reporting by agencies