Police restrict entry into Al Aqsa Mosque for prayer

Israeli police have imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem amid rising tension in the holy city following the abduction and murder of a Palestinian teenager in a suspected "revenge" attack by Jewish settlers.

Israeli police have deployed thousands of forces and erected barricades across Jerusalem's Old City ahead of the weekly prayers, the first in the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which began earlier this week.

Palestinian worshippers under 50 have not been allowed to cross into the Al-Aqsa Mosque. "Though I arrived at the Qalandia checkpoint hours ago, I was denied access to Al-Aqsa Mosque for performing the Friday prayers," Abdel-Rahman Hajjar, 43, said.

"Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been deployed at the checkpoint and are banning hundreds of worshippers from crossing.''

Ibrahim Shmali, from the West Bank city of Nablus, was not allowed to cross into East Jerusalem. "Israel denies us access into Jerusalem. They are isolating the holy city from the West Bank," said Shimali. "We will defy all Israeli security measures to reach Jerusalem".

Israeli police earlier said that Palestinians from the West Bank will not be allowed to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque except the males over 50 and women over 40.

Tension has been running high in Jerusalem since Wednesday's abduction and murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy by suspected Israeli settlers. The incident came days after three Jewish settlers - who had gone missing from a Jewish-only settlement in the West Bank in mid-June - were found dead near the West Bank city of Hebron earlier this week.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming Jerusalem as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state. Sacred to both Muslims and Jews, Jerusalem is home to the iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims represents the world's third holiest site.

Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.