The Eastern Gate - Why is it sealed?

Since the Temple in Jerusalem was where instrumental music in worship was firmly established, anything concerning the Temple is of particular interest to me. Here is a bit of trivia about the Temple Mount that I discovered during my two visits to Jerusalem.

This eastern gate is the only one of the eight gates in Jerusalem that is sealed. The Arabs believe that because the Jews expect their Messiah to come through this gate, they would prevent any possibility of His return. It was sealed up in 1530 AD, by the Ottoman Turks. A cemetary was planted in front of it, with the thinking being that the Jewish Messiah could not set foot into a cemetary, and therefore wouldn't arrive.

Many believe that the gate was shut to prevent the entrance of the Messiah, as foretold by Old Testament Prophecies. However, we see that Ezekeiel prophecied the shutting of the gate around 600 BC (Ezekiel 44:1-2):

Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut."