OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
Tens of thousands of worshipers performed Friday prayer at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the Israeli occupation forces’ restrictions and heightened measures at military checkpoints surrounding Jerusalem, the Old City, and the Mosque itself.
The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Department confirmed that tens of thousands gathered for Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, also offering absentee prayers for the souls of martyrs from Gaza and the West Bank.
The Israeli police forced those banned from Al-Aqsa to leave the Old City after preventing them from praying in its vicinity.
The Israeli forces were deployed heavily throughout the streets of Occupied Jerusalem, around the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque, stopping several people heading towards the Mosque, searching their belongings and bags.
Furthermore, many young men were stopped as they made their way to the Old City, with occupation forces preventing them from reaching Al-Aqsa to perform Friday prayer.
Al-Aqsa Mosque continues to face daily violations and incursions by settlers, except on Fridays and Saturdays, under the protection of Israeli police, in an attempt to impose full control over the Mosque and to implement a temporal and spatial division.
Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli forces have maintained a tight siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque, restricting the entry of Muslim worshipers, tightening measures at its gates, erecting iron barriers, detaining those arriving, and obstructing access to the holy Islamic site.
