The Zionist entity on Friday imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem for the third consecutive day.

The Zionist entity on Friday imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem for the third consecutive day.

Zionist police stepped up security around the mosque, deploying 2,000 troops in Jerusalem and erected roadblocks at entrances to Jerusalem's Old City.

"Police prevent men under 50 and West Bankers from entering Al-Aqsa compound or Friday prayers," Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director-general of the Organization for Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs, told media outlets.

Jews celebrated the start of "Rosh Hashanah" (Jewish New Year) on Wednesday evening, the first day of new Jewish year of 5775.

The occupation typically imposes restrictions on Muslim worshippers' access to Al-Aqsa on the first days of the Jewish New Year.

Al-Khatib said that while the enemy restricts the entry of Palestinians into Al-Aqsa mosque compound, it facilitates the entry of Jewish settlers into the holy site.

He said that at least 300 Jewish settlers and 120 Zionist soldiers had forced their way into the holy compound in the past three days.

In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers – often accompanied by Zionist security forces – have repeatedly forced their way into East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.

The Zionist entity occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.

In September 2000, a visit to the site by the Zionist criminal Ariel Sharon sparked the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising against the Zionist occupation and killing machine, in which thousands of armless Palestinians were killed.