Additional Reporting By Maha Abdul Hadi, IOL Correspondent

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, October 31 (IslamOnloine.net & News Agencies) – The Israeli army clashed with Palestinians after restricting their access to East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the first Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was ready to negotiate peace with the Palestinians.

Only married men over 45 and married women over 35 would be allowed to enter the compound, Islam’s second holiest site, the police were quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The number of special permits granted to Palestinian worshippers from the Gaza Strip and the rest of the West Bank was also limited to 5,000.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out between Israeli soldiers guarding the exit of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem and Palestinian residents who wanted to cross the checkpoint to attend prayers in occupied Jerusalem, witnesses said.

The occupation army responded to stone-throwing with teargas grenades but no serious injuries were reported.

After the incident, the soldiers allowed through a few faithful of over 55 years of age, the witnesses added.

Israel claims fears of fresh attacks inside Israel, but Palestinians said the excessive restrictions are rather provocative.

“Israeli occupation forces were reinforced around the mosque, with some 3,000 soldiers deployed to guard the 5,000 worshippers,” Mohamed Ismail, the director of the mosque’s guards told IslamOnline.net Friday, October 31.

“With extensive checkpoints and soldiers blocking their way at the door of the holy site under security claims, Palestinians felt the pinch of these provocations,” Ismail lamented.

Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon warned in statements carried on Thursday, October 30, that the continued curfews, reoccupation of towns and severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, combined with the economic crisis they have caused, were increasing the threat to Israel's security.

Palestinians defied the closures and checkpoints, with 120,000 performing prayers outside the mosque.

Contacts Underway

"We are maintaining dialogue with the Palestinians,” Sharon

In the meantime, Sharon said Thursday Israel was prepared for talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei as soon as he was ready.

"We are maintaining dialogue with the Palestinians, although not on the level of prime minister," Sharon said.

"The reason talks are not on a prime ministerial level is due to a Palestinian request to allow Qorei to gain strength," he added.

But Palestinian cabinet minister Jamal al-Shobaki  denied a request had been made to delay a Sharon-Qorei meeting.

Shobaki was quoted by Reuters as saying Sharon's statement was intended to draw attention away from the criticism of hardline measures taken against Palestinians.

Other Palestinians skeptically responded to the offer with skepticism and disbelief, citing Israel’s continued construction of the widely-criticized separation wall, which is digging into large swathes of Palestinian territories, and mounting up settlement activities as well as Sharon’s record of maneuverability.

 “The Israeli aggressions are even on the rise, so Sharon’s calls for talks are contradictory,” Hani Al-Massri, a Palestinian analyst said.

“The statements could even meant to alleviate pressures on the embattled Sharon after he was grilled by police over a simmering corruption scandal involving two of his sons on the same day,” Massri told Al-Jazeera.

Ya’alon had also charged that Sharon’s government contributed to the fall of the former Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas by offering only "stingy" support for his attempts to end the conflict.

New Bill

In an effort to break the more than three-year-old cycle of Israeli-Palestinian violence, Russia made moves to bring a resolution to the U.N. Security Council demanding the implementation of the roadmap for peace.

Together with the United States, United Nations and European Union, Russia is one of the co-sponsors of the blueprint, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

But Washington has already made it clear it would not support the resolution and Sharon himself is likely to try to dissuade Moscow from pressing on with its project when he travels to Russia Sunday.

During his three-day visit, he is due to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials.