Israeli police ease limits for Ramadan prayers

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli police said they would partially lift security restrictions to allow all Palestinian Muslims from Jerusalem to attend Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque over the holy month of Ramadan.

The decision on Thursday to end age restrictions barring young Palestinian men from worshipping at the mosque did not end a ban on Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza from entering Jerusalem to pray at the site.

"The political establishment decided that entry for prayers at the Temple Mount tomorrow will be permitted for all Jerusalem citizens with identity cards without age restriction. Entrance from the (West Bank and Gaza) territories into Jerusalem will not be allowed," a police statement said.

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Israel has barred Palestinians under 45 from attending Friday al-Aqsa prayers during the recent violence in which at least 286 people, mostly Arabs, have died.

Israel has said the measures were to prevent rioting at the shrine and due to concerns that dozens of Islamic militants released from Palestinian jails might use the opportunity to launch attacks against Israelis.

Palestinians say the ban was a collective punishment and have demanded that all Palestinians, including those living in Gaza and the West Bank, be allowed to pray at the shrine.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, al-Aqsa is sacred to Arabs and Jews and is a focal point for thousands of worshippers during Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.

Israeli captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.

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