Israeli police have announced they will limit access for Muslim men to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound during Friday prayers to prevent possible clashes following services, AFP reported Thursday.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri told the news agency that men under the age of 50 will be barred from Friday prayers, based on intelligence of plans for unrest, with security forces bolstering their presence in the area.
On Tuesday morning clashes broke out on the site as Muslim rioters threw rocks and firecrackers at police when they opened the Rambam Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, the only entrance for Jewish visitors to the holiest site in Judaism. As a result two police were injured, and Jews were reportedly banned from the Mount.
The attack came the day of an historic Knesset debate on Jewish access and Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount, where Jews are often forbidden from praying, harassed and arrested.
A senior security official warned on Thursday of attempts by Hamas to "inflame" the Temple Mount, and in doing so cause chaos throughout Judea and Samaria.
In response to the Knesset debate about the Temple Mount, the Arab League discussed the possibility of filing a complaint to the UN Security Council over alleged “Israeli attacks on the Al-Aqsa compound.”
On Wednesday, Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur warned that his country might review a 1994 peace treaty with Israel over the Knesset discussion.
A majority of Jordanian MPs voted earlier Wednesday to seek the expulsion of Israel's ambassador to the kingdom.