BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police raided the Haram al-Sharif compound late Wednesday, forcing worshipers performing late night prayers to leave, official news agency Wafa reported.

Witnesses said the Imam leading the prayers was arrested, while the compound was closed until dawn. Young men faced restrictions on entering Al-Aqsa to pray on Thursday morning, they added.

Meanwhile, a Mosque guard told Ma'an that more than twenty settlers entered the grounds of the Haram al-Sharif overnight Wednesday, accompanied by Israeli forces.

Nearly 100,000 Muslim worshippers poured into al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, an Israeli police spokesman said.

Jews revere the compound as the site of their Biblical Temple. Surviving foundations of its Western Wall are now a focus of prayer.