Middle East:A live, around-the-clock video broadcast of the dig at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem; reassurances by the office of prime minister Ehud Olmert that the dig and planned construction will in no way harm the holy site; a similar message delivered by the police to the Muslim religious trust that administers the site.
None of these assurances have assuaged Muslim anger over excavations by Israel some 50m from a compound that is Islam's third holiest site and contains the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosques.
Leaders of the Islamic Movement in Israel have demonstrated at the site of the earthworks, Palestinian militants have threatened a new intifada and leaders in the Arab world have warned Israel not to damage the compound.
Known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (noble sanctuary), the site is the point from where they believe Muhammad ascended to heaven.
A leader of the Islamic Movement, Raed Salah, who wrestled with police on Wednesday near the site, warned of a religious war if the work continued.
Saudi Arabia yesterday called the excavations an "aggressive" act by Israel and demanded international intervention.
Israel says that a pedestrian bridge that links the Western Wall - a supporting wall of the biblical temple - with the Mugrabi Gate, which leads into the compound, was badly damaged by a snowstorm and earthquake in 2004 and needs to be replaced.
Israeli officials say the archaeological dig is aimed at salvaging artefacts before construction begins on the new walkway to the hilltop compound, which Jews call the Temple Mount. It is the holiest Jewish site and the mosques are built on the area where the two biblical temples once stood.
A statement released yesterday by the prime minister's office said the project had been co-ordinated with "all parties, including foreign countries, relevant Muslim officials and international bodies" and that the repair work would not result in "any damage to the [ Temple] Mount or Islamic holy places".
So far, demonstrations at the site of the dig have been small. But fearing that the protests could escalate, the Jerusalem police were bringing in reinforcements last night ahead of Muslim prayers at the site today.
Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franco said that Friday prayers would "be the test" of whether the dispute would turn violent.
Captured by Israel in 1967 but administered by the waqf (Muslim trust) over the last 40 years, the compound is the world's most explosive piece of real estate, embodying the religious-national conflict in the Middle East.
It has sparked bloodshed on several occasions: when Israel opened the entrance to an archaeological tunnel near the compound in 1996, it set off violent confrontations that left close to 70 Palestinians and 16 Israeli soldiers dead.
The visit in 2000 by then opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the site precipitated clashes that ultimately led to the eruption of the second intifada uprising.
The dispute has also further exposed the already tense relations between Mr Olmert and his defence minister, Amir Peretz, whom the prime minister reportedly would like to shift from his current post.
Mr Peretz, who is leader of the prime minister's senior coalition partner, the centre-left Labor Party, sent a letter on Wednesday night to Mr Olmert asking him to halt the work immediately for fear it would create anger in the Arab world and could lead to a deterioration in the security situation with the Palestinians.
Deputy defence minister Ephraim Sneh, also of Labor, warned yesterday that the dig could have a negative impact "on our relations with important, moderate elements in the Arab world". But foreign minister Tzippi Livni defended the move, saying that "irresponsible elements know full well that there is no damage here to the holy site" and that they were exploiting Israeli democracy "to fan religious feelings to make political profit".
Raed Salah has called for a large demonstration in Nazareth today, which he declared "Al Aqsa Day".
Additional reporting: Reuters