JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called Saturday night for “responsibility and restraint” regarding this city’s most sensitive sacred site, urging members of Parliament “to work to calm the situation” after days of mounting tension.

Several lawmakers from Mr. Netanyahu’s own Likud Party have been among a small but vocal group advocating increased Jewish access and prayer at the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Israel closed the revered plateau entirely for the first time in years on Thursday, after counterterrorism forces killed a Palestinian suspected of trying the night before to assassinate Yehuda Glick, a 48-year-old Israeli-American and a leading advocate for increased Jewish access.

As the site of the ancient Jewish temples, the Mount is the holiest spot in Judaism, but Israel prohibits non-Muslims from openly praying there to avoid provocations. It is also among Islam’s three holiest places, drawing thousands daily to prayer at Al Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.