Israel Restricts Access to Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel on Monday curbed travel from the West Bank and access to Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound as Jews began to celebrate Passover holidays amid raised tension with the Palestinians.

Four Israeli rightwing activists were briefly detained when they tried to make their way to the Old City in annexed east Jerusalem with two goats intended for ritual slaughter, police said.

A Passover animal sacrifice near the mosque compound in the Old City would likely have been perceived by Muslims as a challenge to the tense status quo of the site and could have sparked unrest.'

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