OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
Israeli police attacked a number of worshipers on Friday evening near Lions Gate, one of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, after they performed the evening and Tarawih prayers on the Night of Power known as “Laylatul-Qadr”.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency, Israeli police forces assaulted a number of Palestinian young men after the evening and Tarawih prayers were over, resulting in two young men sustaining minor bruises.
On Friday night, 200,000 worshipers celebrated “Laylatul-Qadr” in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite Israeli restrictions.
The night, which Muslims hope was the Night of Power, witnessed the largest number of worshipers entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip last October, according to Anadolu Agency.
Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli police doubled their presence at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem, especially at the Lions and Silsila Gates.
Israeli occupation authority (IOA) allowed only a small number of West Bank residents to enter the mosque to perform prayers, permitting only Palestinian men over the age of 55 and women over the age of 50 to enter Jerusalem on Fridays.
The IOA obliged worshipers from the West Bank to leave Jerusalem before the time of the sunset prayer, preventing them from celebrating Laylatul-Qadr in the holy site.
