Tens of thosuands of Muslims were converging on Islam's third-holiest site, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, to attend the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan. Flocking in from the occupied West Bank and Israel, the worshippers crowded the narrow lanes leading to the mosque in the heart of Jerusalem.
As every Friday in Ramadan, the Israeli authorities allow West Bank men older than 45 and women over 35 into Jerusalem to pray, said Shlomo Dror, spokesman for the coordinator of government activities in the territories.
Many worshippers arrived very early at the Qalandiya checkpoint, between the West Bank political capital of Ramallah and Jerusalem, and another that controls access to the holy city from the south, said AFP journalists.
Very few Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank are normally granted Israeli permits allowing them to travel to occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, the site of the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Like every Friday since Ramadan began, Israeli police were deployed in force in east Jerusalem to prevent any disturbances during and after the prayers.
The Islamic Movement in Israel said tens of thousands of worshippers from Arab districts inside the Jewish state were arriving in Jerusalem ahead of the prayers, due to begin at 0930 GMT.
The last Friday of Ramadan, called the Orphan, attracts a record number of worshippers to the Al-Aqsa mosque each year.
Last Friday, Israeli soldiers dispersed hundreds of Palestinians who demonstrated at the two main checkpoints on the approach to Jerusalem after they were stopped from heading to the prayers.
