One can sense the discrimination already at the entrance to the Old City. A young Palestinian guarding a parking area asks for payment when the Haaretz vehicle pulls in. "Oh, you're Arabs? Then it's free," he says.

After years of tranquillity and economic prosperity, conflict has returned to the Old City. This time it is because of excavations at the Mugrabi Gate, which seem to be only an excuse for an outbreak of the simmering Palestinian-Israeli struggle in East Jerusalem.

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"Go and look at the tunnels under Al-Aqsa," says Khalil, a resident, watching his friends play dominoes in the Old City's butchers' market. Like every Palestinian interviewed for this article, he is convinced the Israelis want to bring down the Temple Mount.

The incitement by the Islamic Movement, broadcast by the Arab satellite channels, has fallen on fertile ground - on a population that has had to pay its taxes like Israelis, but lives with a constant feeling of discrimination.

"The Western Wall that you say belongs to you, and the Mugrabi ascent, are both part of the Al-Aqsa compound. Why did you have to dig? The Muslims are sleeping now, but one day they will wake up and rise up against you," predicts Khalil.

The Old City is a bit sleepy right now. At the entrance to the Temple Mount from Saladin Alley, the police look bored. Just before 3 P.M. comes the muezzin's call to prayer, and a few worshipers head for the mount. A Palestinian man in his twenties wants to go in. "Ta'al buqra [come back tomorrow]," a policeman says. "It's closed today."

"Are you a journalist?" a young man named Mohammed asks. "Write down that they don't give us freedom of religion. Why is there all this mess? Because you're going to destroy by excavation two holy rooms that are part of the Al-Buraq mosque, and turn it into a synagogue."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Everybody knows it. The bridge you're building will allow you to send jeeps and APCs to the mosque," Mohammed answers confidently.

Conspiracy theories abound. At a local cafe, Louis, a Christian, says he is afraid of the future: "Today it's Al-Aqsa, tomorrow the church [of the Holy Sepulcher.]"

Ramadan, who works in a candy shop, believes that Israel started the dig in order to thwart the Palestinian unity plan. "I'm not religious and I don't pray on the mount. My pocket is what interests me. But when the Israelis mess with Al-Aqsa, it hurts my feelings," he explains.

Says Taher, a restaurateur: "Ten guys threw stones on Friday and 500 cops broke into the Al-Aqsa square. Now the whole city is economically dead." His complaint is against Israel, of course, not against the Islamic Movement.

A few hundred meters away, the work on the Mugrabi ramp is proceeding. One curious onlooker, an older Jewish man, explains his own conspiracy theory. "The Waqf [Moslem trust] is afraid tourists won't keep paying it if a new bridge opens." A senior police officer explains that "the Muslim residents bought the stories of the Islamic Movement - and that's a sign that Sheikh Raed Salah is winning."