Israeli occupation forces completely sealed off the Al-Aqsa compound for the first time in decades late Wednesday following the shooting of the Zionist Rabbi Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem.

Israeli occupation forces completely sealed off the Al-Aqsa compound for the first time in decades late Wednesday following the shooting of the Zionist Rabbi Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem.

Hundreds of Muslim worshipers performed dawn prayers in the streets outside the holy site after Israeli forces closed all entrances.

Israel's closure of the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to all visitors following the shooting of a Zionist hardliner is tantamount to a "declaration of war," President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday.

"This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation," his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina quoted him as saying.

"We hold the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation in Jerusalem that has reached its peak through the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning," he added.

Abu Rdeina added, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, that Abbas confirmed that “Jerusalem and its holy Muslim and Christian places are a red line and we won’t accept any harm to them.”

Abu Rdeina said that Israel’s decision to seal Al-Aqsa mosque for the first time “was a brazen challenge and dangerous behavior, and will lead to more tension and instability and create very dangerous atmosphere.”

The state of Palestine, he added, will carry out all the procedures needed to call 'Israel' to account and stop these ongoing attacks.

Abbas’ spokesman urged the international community to “take action immediately in order to stop this aggression because with such attacks and dangerous escalation

“Israel is declaring war against the Palestinian people and their holy places and against both the Arab and Islamic nations.”