MUSLIM prayers at a major Jerusalem shrine have ended peacefully following tensions over security measures by Israeli forces, although violence continued in the West Bank where a Palestinian was killed after attacking soldiers.

Israeli forces are on high alert following two weeks of violence over the sacred site, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews.

Tensions flared at the site after Arab gunmen killed two police officers there on July 14, prompting Israel to install security devices at entrances.

The move outraged Muslims and sparked some of the worst street clashes in years, threatening to draw Israel into conflict with other Arab and Muslim nations.

Firas Dibs, an official from the Jordanian religious body which administers the sacred site, said tens of thousands attended Friday prayers.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said prayers at the Jerusalem shrine ended without incident. There were some sporadic low-level scuffles between Palestinians and Israeli forces nearby, but nothing on the scale of recent violence.

A Palestinian was later shot and killed after he ran towards troops armed with a knife in the West Bank, Israel’s military said. No soldiers were injured in the incident at the Gush Etzion Junction, a busy intersection south of Jerusalem which has been the site of multiple Palestinian attacks over the past two years.