World Bulletin/News Desk

Jordan on Saturday denounced a decision by Israeli authorities to close down the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent Palestinian Muslims from performing the weekly Friday prayer at the mosque.

It described the Israeli decision as a "dangerous precedent", warning against continued Jewish violations against Islamic holy sites in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli authorities prevented Muslims from performing the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, imposing restrictions to entry to the prayer house, eyewitnesses said.

The Israeli authorities also prevented men less than 50 years of age and women less than 40 years of age from reaching East Jerusalem.

Jordanian Information Minister Mohamed Momani described the Israeli measures as a violation of the sanctity of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"These measures create anger among people across the Islamic world in general," he told Anadolu Agency.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming Jerusalem as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state.