JERUSALEM, July 16, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli police banned since Sunday morning the entry of Islamic Waqf personnel to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, as the ban entry of Muslim worshipers to the holy site continues for the third day.

Feras Debes, a media official of the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf, told WAFA that Israeli intelligence informed via phone some of the Waqf personnel that they were all banned from entering the Islamic holy site.

Last night, Israeli occupation authorities announced they will reopen the compound gradually starting Sunday, but said they will only reopen it after they install surveillance cameras and e-gates to detect metal.

This came after Palestinians took to the streets across the occupied city in protest of the mosque’s closure by Israel, demanding that the mosque be reopened for prayer. Clashes with Israeli forces were also reported during many of the protests.

Israel closed the gates to the mosque since Friday and banned the weekly Friday prayer following a live fire attack outside the mosque compound by three Palestinians that left two Israeli policemen dead. The three were shot dead by the police immediately.

Banning prayer in the mosque on a Friday, the Muslim holy day, was unprecedented since the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem and the West Bank in June 1967, according to reports.

M.N/M.H