Palestinians pray outside Aqsa to protest gate closure

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - Dozens of Palestinian worshippers on Wednesday performed prayers outside Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex to protest the continued closure by Israel of the of Al-Rahma Gate.

Earlier Wednesday, Israeli forces were deployed near the gate -- located on the east side of the mosque compound -- amid mounting tensions with Palestinian worshippers.

On Monday, the Israeli authorities sealed the gate, preventing hundreds of Muslim worshippers from entering Al-Aqsa, and detained several Palestinians inside the mosque complex.

The following day, the Israeli authorities reportedly reopened the gate temporarily.