There have been clashes across the West Bank following Israel’s decision to restrict access to the sacred Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.<br /><br />Only Muslim worshippers over the age of 50 were allowed into the complex to pray this morning. It comes after the shooting on Wednesday night of a prominent Jewish far-right activist who led a campaign for Jews to be allowed to pray at the site.<br /><br />In response to that Israeli police killed the suspected gunman and closed down all entry as violence broke out in East Jerusalem.<br /><br />Locals say it was the first time in 14 years that Al Aqsa had been shut to all visitors, whether they were Muslims, Jews or tourists.<br /><br />The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the closure as “tantamount to a declaration of war” by Israel.<br /><br />Tensions have been high for weeks following the Gaza war and Israel’s moves to expand settlement building in eastern areas of the city, which the Palestinians want for a capital of an independent state alongside Gaza and the West Bank.
