Five people were arrested during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City. The detainees, Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs, were taken in for questioning by security personnel.
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One of those arrested, an Arab-Israeli, attacked a police officer. Knives were found in the belongings of a man and woman who were arrested.
Reinforced police squads deployed in the city ahead of the prayer session, which was attended by some 90,000 Muslim faithful.
Israeli
authorities eased access restrictions for Palestinians from the West Bank, allowing men aged 50 and over and women of 45 and over to enter the site.
Jerusalem-based Sheikh Mohammed Hussein said that the age restrictions placed on worshippers is one of many of Israel's attempts to Judaize the city, and "to limit the Islamic presence in Jerusalem."
At the Qanladiya checkpoint into Jerusalem, long lines of people could be seen streaming into the city from early morning onwards.
The Israeli army has extended opening times at some checkpoints for the month of Ramadan, and said in a statement soldiers manning the barriers have been told to "refrain from eating and drinking in public" whenever possible "so as to demonstrate a high level of respect and understanding."
The compound is known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif to Muslims and is Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. Jews refer to the same area as the Temple Mount, the location of the Second Jewish Temple razed by the Romans in 70 AD and Judaism's holiest site.
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