Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted a photo of him surrounded by Border Police officers as they conducted a security assessment near the compound in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed following a 1967 Middle East war in a move not recognised internationally.
There were differing estimates of the number of worshippers, with the Israeli police putting the number at 130,000, while the Waqf, the Jordanian-appointed Islamic organisation that manages the complex, placed the number at 250,000.
"There is no room for compromise on Al-Aqsa or space for negotiations around it and we will not give up one iota of its land," the Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Hussein said at the Friday sermon, after expressing appreciation for the strong turnout of Muslim worshippers throughout the holy month.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians lined up at military checkpoints in the early morning hours to cross from the Israeli-occupied West Bank into Jerusalem.
Israel claims Jerusalem, including the walled Old City in the east with all its sacred sites, as its eternal and undivided capital. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state in the West Bank and Gaza.
As Muslims flocked to Al-Aqsa, Orthodox Christians held Good Friday processions in the Old City's narrow alleyways and Jewish worshippers prayed at the Western Wall.
Friday also marked the annual "Quds (Jerusalem) Day", when Iran holds rallies in support of Palestinians.
Hundreds of Palestinians marched in Gaza City after Friday prayers, waving flags of Iran and several Arab countries, including Saudia Arabia.
