Media caption Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld explains what is known about the incident 
 
 An Israeli Jew has been shot dead near Jerusalem's Western Wall after a guard mistook him for a Palestinian militant, police say. 
 
 Gunfire was heard on Friday morning at the wall - one of Judaism's holiest sites where hundreds of worshippers were attending prayers at the time. 
 
 Police say the guard shot the man after hearing him shout "Allahu Akbar". 
 
 The area, which is patrolled by armed guards, closed to visitors for about an hour but has now reopened. 
 
 The incident took place at about 07:40 local time (04:40 GMT) as the man emerged from a public toilet at the wall compound. 
 
 Western Wall Image caption The Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites, draws thousands of worshippers and visitors every day Remnant of retaining wall of mount on which second Jewish Temple stood 
 
 One of Judaism's holiest sites 
 
 Also known as Wailing Wall because of centuries of Jewish mourning there after destruction of Temple in 70AD 
 
 Area of location (Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif) frequent flashpoint for violence between Jews and Palestinians Jerusalem's holiest sites 
 
 A police spokesman said the guard drew his weapon and fired a number of shots at the man after hearing him shout "Allahu Akbar" (God is great, in Arabic). 
 
 The man had his hands in his pockets at the time he was approached by the guard, the spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said. 
 
 The Western Wall is part of the Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif). It is venerated by Jews as a remnant from the complex which housed the Jewish temple until 70AD. 
 
 Jews go to the Western Wall to pray and leave prayers on pieces of paper between its ancient stones. 
 
 The site and the area around it has in the past been a flashpoint for violence between Israelis and Palestinians. ||||| An Israeli soldier touches the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City January 21, 2013. 
 
 Israeli border policemen load their weapons before patrolling at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City June 21, 2013. A security guard shot and killed a Jewish Israeli man on Friday at one of Judaism's holiest sites in Jerusalem, the Western Wall, which was immediately... 
 
 JERUSALEM A security guard shot and killed a Jewish Israeli man on Friday at one of Judaism's holiest sites in Jerusalem, the Western Wall, which was immediately shut to visitors, police said. 
 
 The guard opened fire after the man, in an adjacent restroom, was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is greatest", police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. 
 
 Rosenfeld said the guard opened fire with his pistol because he suspected the man was a Palestinian militant. The victim turned out to be an Israeli Jew in his 40s. 
 
 "The fact he shouted Allahu Akbar, that seems to be why the security guard drew his weapon and fired a number of shots at him," he said. 
 
 "We are looking into what (the dead man's)... motives were," Rosenfeld added. 
 
 The incident occurred as hundreds gathered for prayer in one of Jerusalem's most sensitive areas. The Western Wall is one of Judaism's holiest sites, where thousands worship each week. 
 
 The plaza where the wall is located is next to the Temple Mount, revered by Jews as the place where two biblical temples stood, and the site of Islam's third holiest mosque, al-Aqsa. 
 
 (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by John Stonestreet)
– A guard at Jerusalem's Western Wall holy site shot and killed an Israeli man this morning, thinking he was a Palestinian militant. The guard heard the man yell "Allahu Akbar," or "God is greatest" in Arabic, the BBC reports. "The fact he shouted Allahu Akbar, that seems to be why the security guard drew his weapon and fired a number of shots at him," a police rep said, per Reuters. The victim was also reportedly spotted pulling something out of his pocket as he left a public restroom nearby. Hundreds were visiting the wall for morning prayers; the site closed after the shooting.