Palestinians take part in an anti-Israel rally over the entry restrictions to the al-Aqsa mosque, in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz
Reuters/Jerusalem
Muslim men over 50 prayed at the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday amid intense security, a day after Israel closed all access to the sacred compound for the first time in more than a decade following violence on the streets.
More than 1,000 Israeli police were deployed around the Old City's cobbled streets and the ancient gates that lead to al Aqsa, a spokeswoman said, in addition to undercover anti-riot units and observation balloons floating in the sky.
Israeli police frequently limit access to al Aqsa to women and Muslim men over the age of 40 or 50 when they are concerned about potential clashes at the site.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said through his spokesman that the closure of al Aqsa combined with other dangerous escalations by Israel were "tantamount to a declaration of war".
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, later said Abbas had held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and that the Palestinian leader had praised Kerry's efforts and those of Jordanian King Abdullah "to stop the Israeli practices and halt the escalation".
Worshippers wanting to enter the ornate marble-and-stone compound, which contains the golden Dome of the Rock and al Aqsa mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam, queued behind blue barricades to show their identification papers to the police.
More than 4,000 people attended midday prayers, police said. There were a few isolated disturbances, including firecrackers being set off nearby and an attempt by a group of young Palestinian men to break through the police cordon.
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces erupted at several locations across the West Bank in the afternoon and a number of protesters were injured, Palestinian medical officials said.
Israeli authorities shut all access to al Aqsa on Thursday after the shooting of Yehuda Glick, a far-right religious activist who has led a campaign for Jews to be allowed to pray at the site, which they refer to as Temple Mount.
Glick, 48, was shot as he left a conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. The man suspected of shooting him, a Palestinian from the neighbourhood of Abu Tor in the eastern, mainly Arab side of the city, was shot dead by Israeli forces before dawn on Thursday, following an exchange of gunfire.
Locals said it was the first time all access to al Aqsa had been banned since the second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, erupted in 2000. But Jordanian authorities, who are responsible for administering the site, and Palestinian officials said it was the first full closure of the compound since the 1967 Middle East war.
