Israeli security forces braced themselves for more unrest today after days of Palestinian attacks that spread this week from beyond the flashpoint of violence at Jerusalem's holiest site and across the West Bank to Israeli cities.
Israeli police barred young Muslim men from the sacred Jerusalem site as a measure to ensure calm on Friday morning.
Spokeswoman Luba Samri said men under 45 are barred from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound while women of all ages can enter.
The age limit has been set intermittently in an attempt to ensure peace at the site, as it's mostly younger Palestinians involved in the violence.
Samri said police are on high alert. The unrest began about three weeks ago as Palestinians repeatedly barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque and hurled rocks and firebombs at police.
It was fueled by Palestinian allegations that Israel plans to change the delicate arrangement at the hilltop compound, holy to Jews and Muslims. Israel has adamantly denied the allegations and accused Palestinian leaders of incitement.
The attacks were initially confined to east Jerusalem, site of the sacred compound, and the West Bank, both territories captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 war and claimed by the Palestinians for their future state.
But this past week the violence has spread to Tel Aviv, Afula and other Israeli cities.
What began as Palestinians throwing rocks and firebombs at passing cars and police morphed into a deadly shooting and a rash of knife attacks where Palestinians stabbed Israeli civilians and soldiers in the streets.
The attacks have shocked Israelis and sparked fears of a new Palestinian Intifada, or uprising. However Israeli officials have downplayed that possibility, saying this is the kind of violent spike Israel has faced periodically in recent decades.
