By Esat Firat
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli police on Friday restricted the entry of hundreds of Muslim worshippers to Jerusalem’s Old City and flashpoint the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
They prevented 300 Palestinians residing in the West Bank from entering Al-Aqsa for Friday prayers on the grounds that they "did not have permission," police said in a statement.
Police performed identity checks on Palestinians at the gates of Old City beginning Friday morning.
Security forces sent Palestinians back to the West Bank by buses.
Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip must get permission from the Israeli authorities to enter Jerusalem.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the 1967 Middle East war.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz
