A Palestinian woman at the gate of the al-Haram al-Sharif mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. (Reuters)

Jerusalem, April 10 (Reuters): Thousands of Israeli police sealed off a flashpoint Jerusalem shrine today to foil a march by ultranationalist Jews that could have inflamed violence, complicating Israel?s plan to withdraw from Gaza.

Thirty-one protesters were arrested in scuffles before police lifted a cordon imposed since morning to ban the march and prevent non-Muslims from reaching the shrine for fear it would spark clashes.

Any serious relapse into violence could disrupt a Gaza pullout set for July and trouble a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and George W. Bush at the US President?s Texas ranch tomorrow.

Palestinians had warned they would scrap their ceasefire if Jews rallied at the site revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as Temple Mount. March organisers had said that thousands bent on derailing the Gaza withdrawal would come to a site at the heart of the West Asian conflict and a scene of bloodshed in the past.

But only several hundred adherents of the Revava (?Multitude?) movement showed up before the march fizzled. Police had blockaded all approaches to the shrine.

Only a few dozen protesters tried to push their way into the site. Some shouted ?Gestapo? at police and injured an officer with a thrown rock.

?We came here to show the world we are unable to pray even at our holiest place, the Temple Mount,? said Jewish protester Efraim Cohen, 21, a West Bank settler.

?But if Sharon thinks it will be as easy to expel Jews from Gaza as he has dealt with us today, he is mistaken. The struggle will continue,? he said, before being hustled away by police.

In Tel Aviv, right-wing Israelis blocked a main highway at the height of rush hour with burning tyres. Police arrested 30 and said some would be brought before a judge tomorrow.

Hundreds of Palestinians converged on the Old City to protest the plan by ultra-nationalist Israelis to march on the shrine which is controlled by Muslim religious authorities. Police on horseback drove the Palestinians back from one gate.

Police arrested eight Palestinians, including a man disguised as a woman intercepted en route to the shrine. One policeman was hit in the head by a rock. Israel had barred Palestinian men under 40 from the shrine today to minimise any risk of violence with Jews, and lifted the restrictions after the protest broke up.

Police also kept Israeli rightists away from the Western Wall, a Jewish prayer site in a plaza abutting the elevated mosque compound, to prevent any possible confrontation with Muslims praying inside.