(3 Feb 2006)
1. Wide of Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of The Rock
2. Various of Israeli border police near mosque
3. Pull focus of dome seen behind barbed wire
4. Israeli police vehicles lined up near Old City walls
5. Various of police on patrol
6. Various of officers checking bus passengers
7. Various of group of officers
8. Wide of scene
STORYLINE:
Israeli authorities stepped up security in Jerusalem ahead of Friday prayers in the city's mosques, as the outrage over cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad continued to escalate in the Arab and Islamic world.
Israeli police are restricting access to the Al Aqsa Mosque for fear that noon prayers could devolve into anti-European riots, Israel Radio reported.
Muslims in Israel and the area of the Palestinian Authority have joined in the worldwide Muslim protests over the cartoons, originally printed in a Danish newspaper and reprinted in several others across Europe.
Police have fanned out throughout the Old City of Jerusalem and are preventing men under the age of 45 from praying at the holy site in an effort
to prevent a possible riot after prayers, the radio reported.
Palestinian anger has already sparked a boycott of Scandinavian products, threats against French journalists in Gaza and the brief kidnapping of a German teacher in the West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday.
Friday prayers in Jerusalem are a traditional flashpoint where worshippers can be quickly incited by strong sermons.
Israel often limits access to the mosques to Jerusalem residents and imposes a minimum age restriction.
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