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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Thousands of Palestinians performed prayers in the streets outside the Al-Aqsa compound on Friday after Israel imposed age restrictions on worshipers, a local foundation said.

Israeli troops and police officers were deployed in the streets and alleyways of the Old City and set up checkpoints near gates leading to the Al-Aqsa mosque, the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said.

Ultra-orthodox Jewish worshipers entered the compound on Thursday and late into the night to perform religious rituals on the occasion of the Passover holiday, the group added.

An Israeli police spokeswoman told AFP that thousands officers had been deployed in the Old City to "prevent disorder."

The security measures were implemented as Palestinians prepare to commemorate the deaths of six Palestinian-Israeli protesters at the hands of Israeli police and troops during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Arab land in Galilee.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured on Land Day last year as Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters across the occupied West Bank.

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Israeli police detain Palestinians at Al-Aqsa compound

Published (updated) 31/03/2013 16:07

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police on Saturday arrested Palestinian worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem during a visit by Jewish rightists.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma'an that six Palestinians were arrested for throwing stones at groups of Jews and Christians visiting the compound.

Witnesses told Ma'an that police detained 10 Palestinians and attacked Muslim worshipers with electric shock batons.

Dozens of Israeli settlers raided the mosque from al-Magharbeh gate, witnesses said. One settler drank wine and another allowed her daughter to urinate near an olive tree in the compound, they said, adding that a guard at Al-Aqsa Mosque intervened, leading to scuffles.

Shiekh Azzam al-Khatib, the director of Islamic endowments in Jerusalem, denounced the visits.

He said 200 Israeli settlers had entered the mosque in a provocative way, adding that religious officials had forced Israeli police to close al-Magharbeh gate for the day.

Israel's police spokesman said further visits of Jewish and Christian groups were scheduled on Sunday afternoon and would continue as planned.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is the third holiest-site in Islam. The area is sacred to Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.