PALESTINIANS declared victory yesterday after Israeli authorities removed the last extra security measures from East Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque.

Thousands of worshippers flocked to Islam’s third-holiest site after two weeks of protests in which Muslims were forced to pray in the streets.

Tens of thousands more are expected to attend Friday prayers.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said prayers would resume with the blessing of religious leaders after Israeli police removed new railings and security cameras, returning the compound to how it had been “before July 14.”

The measures were in response to the fatal shooting of two Israeli border police officers by three Palestinian citizens of Israel from inside the mosque compound on July 13. The gunmen were shot dead in return.

Yesterday the three, all from the Jabarin family, were finally buried after authorities released their bodies in return for a 75,000 shekel (£16,000) fine paid by their relatives and a ban on media or Knesset members from attending the funeral.

Metal detector gates installed at the mosque before Friday prayers on July 14 were removed earlier this week.

That followed a phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah II, whose country administers the mosque.

The call also led to the release of an Israeli embassy security guard arrested in Amman after shooting dead a 16-year-old Jordanian boy he claimed had stabbed him with a screwdriver. A bystander was also shot dead.

But yesterday King Abdullah said Mr Netanyahu must “guarantee the trial of the murderer,” warning the incident “will have a direct impact on the nature of our relations.”

Israeli authorities have mooted the installation of “smart” surveillance cameras they claim can spot concealed weapons.

In the besieged Gaza Strip, senior Hamas movement leader Izzat Risheq hailed the “historic victory.”

“Today, our people celebrate the removal of the gates, tomorrow they will celebrate the removal of the occupation itself,” he said.

But Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the extreme pro-settler Jewish Home party, attacked the climbdown.

“Every time the state of Israel folds in a strategic way we get hit with an intifada,” he said.