Men of all ages will be allowed to attend the main weekly Muslim prayers today at Jerusalem´s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the first time in “months”, a police spokesman said.
“No age limit on the Temple Mount, we´re hoping things will be calm and quiet today,” spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told.
He was using the Jewish term for the Old City holy site that has been the scene of repeated disturbances for months.
He added that “extra police units were deployed in Jerusalem this morning to prevent any incidents in and around the Old City.”
Rosenfeld linked the decision to lift age restrictions to talks in Jordan on Thursday after which US Secretary of State John Kerry said steps were agreed between King Abdullah II and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lower tensions at the mosque compound.
