Darren Whiteside
Israeli authorities are banning Muslim men under the age of 50 from a contested Jerusalem shrine ahead of a planned mass protest on Friday, a police spokesman said. Police reinforcements are being deployed around Jerusalem’s Old City as tensions rise over plans to set up metal detectors around the shrine inside, a holy site claimed by both Palestinians and Israelis. Authorities announced plans to install metal detectors earlier this week after a fatal attack on Israeli police last Friday. But Muslim leaders view the move as a way for Israel to tighten its grip on the Muslim-run shrine, with calls for a mass protest outside the shrine at Friday prayers. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the Associated Press that police units would be “mobilized in all areas and neighborhoods” to respond to the planned protests.