Israel removed metal detectors from a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site on Tuesday after their installation triggered deadly violence, but Muslim officials said worshippers should continue a boycott for now.
The Israeli move came in the face of intensive international diplomacy seeking to stop the dispute over the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, sparking wider Palestinian unrest.
The government said it would introduce subtler measures instead to secure the compound, which houses the revered Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, following a deadly attack on Israeli police nearby.
A work crew removed the metal detectors from one entrance to the compound in the early hours, and cameras installed on overhead bridges in recent days were also gone, an AFP correspondent reported.
Dozens of Israeli security personnel stood quietly outside the entrance, where Muslims have prayed for days in protest at the metal detectors.
A small group of women prayed outside. One of them, Widad Ali Nasser, said they would "not enter the Al-Aqsa mosque until the situation returns to how it was before... without surveillance cameras, without searches, without metal detectors."
The women later held a small demonstration, chanting they would sacrifice "soul and blood for Al-Aqsa".
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