Hundreds of Palestinian worshippers performed midday prayers Saturday at the Lions Gate outside the Al Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al Sharif as Palestinians continued to reject metal detector gates installed by the Israeli occupation authorities to restrict access into the compound, Islam’s third holiest shrine.

Palestinian sources said additional Israeli troops and police deployed at the Lions Gate and the main entrance to the complex at noon, declaring the site off limits to the media and barring journalists from taking pictures or shooting video of the congregation.

The ongoing tight military presence comes as a general strike was observed in occupied Jerusalem’s Arab neighbourhoods of Al Tor and Issawiyeh, the hometowns of two Palestinians shot and killed by Israeli forces during “a day of rage” observed on Friday to decry additional security measures imposed at Al Aqsa. A partial strike was also in force in Arab East Jerusalem and the Old City’s streets.

Elsewhere, an Israeli army special force in civilian clothes fired shots at a Palestinian vehicle south of Hebron, but the driver was not hurt, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

Source: Fana News