Jerusalem mufti slams Israeli 'Quran abuse'

"The occupation authorities have followed the American example in profaning the holy Quran," Sheikh Ekremah Sabri told worshippers attending the weekly prayers at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.

"The media have reported the abuse committed by the jailers and the police who tore up copies of the Quran in front of the heroic detainees at Meggido prison to provoke and humiliate them, and we have corroborated this information," he added.

Palestinian detainees at Meggido in northern Israel accused the authorities earlier this week of deliberately ripping out pages of the Quran during a search of their cells, claims which have been rigorously denied by the Israeli prison service.

Around 900 prisoners at Meggido began a three-day protest hunger strike on Wednesday, although the prison service said the fast had ended within less than 24 hours.

Dozens of Israeli police reinforcements were deployed to occupied east Jerusalem on Friday for fear of widespread protests at the end of prayers as well as on the perimeter of Al-Aqsa where access was denied to men aged under 45.

Around 6,000 Muslims attended the prayers while several hundred more were kept outside, said police. There were no reports of any disturbances.

However, the mufti was fiercely critical of the restrictions, saying that they had transformed east Jerusalem into "a giant prison".

"The border police and policemen are outnumbering the worshippers," he added.