40,000 Muslims perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM (AA) – Thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Arab villages inside Israel performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

Israeli authorities stepped up security in and around the flashpoint religious site, deploying thousands of police and setting up roadblocks near the entrances of Jerusalem's Old City.

Al-Aqsa Mosque Director Sheikh Omar Kiswani told Anadolu Agency that, despite the additional security measures, an estimated 40,000 Palestinians had performed weekly prayers at the site on Friday.

“Since morning, thousands of people have poured into the mosque compound,” he said.

Tension has mounted in Jerusalem since last month, when Israeli police briefly sealed the Al-Aqsa compound’s Al-Rahma Gate, located adjacent to the eastern wall of the Old City, sparking angry Palestinian demonstrations.

In the weeks since, the Israeli authorities have banned scores of Palestinians -- including religious officials -- from entering the Al-Aqsa, which for Muslims represents the world’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.