Turkish PM slams Israel's Al-Aqsa restrictions

By Duygu Yener

ANKARA (AA) - Putting restriction on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque will not contribute to solve any problems, the Turkish prime minister said on Friday.

"Its implementation is wrong. Taking such radical measures over a terror threat, blocking or restricting Muslims' access to Al-Aqsa Mosque will not contribute to solving any problems," Binali Yildirim said.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured Friday as clashes broke out with Israeli police outside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, health officials said.

The Jordanian-run Authority for Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs had closed all the mosques in East Jerusalem earlier on Friday and had called for prayers in front of Al-Aqsa’s gates to protest against the installation of metal detectors at the entrances to the mosque compound.

Israeli police banned men under the age of 50 from entering the mosque and Jerusalem’s Old City.

The measures were authorized by the Israeli Cabinet late Thursday.

They came after Israeli authorities closed down the Al-Aqsa compound and canceled the weekly Friday prayers for the first time in nearly five decades last week, following a shootout that left three Palestinians and two Israeli policemen dead near the flashpoint holy site in East Jerusalem.