Amman, July 3 (Petra)-- Tens of thousands of worshippers performed Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound despite Israeli occupation restrictions at military checkpoints and across roads leading to Jerusalem's Old City and the mosque.

The Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem said around 50,000 worshippers attended Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa, according to Palestinian media reports.

Local sources said Israeli forces were deployed heavily throughout Jerusalem, particularly around the Old City and the Al-Aqsa compound. They reportedly erected metal barriers, stopped worshippers on their way to the mosque, and checked their identification documents.

For the past three years, Israeli authorities have prevented Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform prayer.

//Petra// MF