Several hundred Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at Jerusalem’s holiest site on Friday, after calls posted on right-wing Jewish Internet sites for Jews to push Muslims from it prompted Palestinians to mass there in resistance.

Anticipating trouble, police officers, as well as Palestinian news photographers, gathered at the site of the expected standoff, the plaza by Al Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, two of Islam’s holiest shrines, which sit above the remains of two Jewish temples. Tensions have always been high over control of the space, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Jews pray below the plaza at the Western Wall and are not permitted to engage in religious rituals or prayer in the plaza, but small groups occasionally try to anyway.

A police spokesman said that Jews did not try to enter the plaza on Friday. But some among the crowd of Palestinians threw stones at the police officers at its entrance. Some barricaded themselves in the mosque. The police said they used stun grenades to disperse the crowd. Each side reported about a dozen light injuries. The police arrested four Palestinians.

Later, a disturbance near the West Bank city of Ramallah related to the confrontation led to the death of a Palestinian. Medical authorities said Talat Ramia, 25, died in hospital after being shot by an Israeli soldier. An Israeli army spokesman said a riot had broken out and that Mr. Ramia had shot fireworks at soldiers at a checkpoint. He was shot by a soldier in the shoulder and died later in the hospital. (Copyright 2012 The New York Times Company 02/25/12)