OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
Dozens of thousands of Muslim worshipers observed the Friday khutba (sermon) and prayer at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem despite the Israeli security measures that restricted their access to their holy site.
According to local sources, around 40,000 Muslim worshipers from Jerusalem and 1948 occupied Palestine were able to attend the Friday khutba and prayer at the Aqsa Mosque after they crossed Israeli security checkpoints outside the Aqsa Mosque’s entrances and gates, where they underwent ID check and physical search.
Aqsa preacher Sheikh Mohamed Sarandah mourned the martyred who worked devotedly for the Muslim Ummah, stressing that the Ummah would “remain a living nation that does not die and gives birth to sincere people who work for its glory.”
After the Friday prayer, the congregation performed the funeral prayer in absentia for Palestinian martyrs.
Earlier, Israeli police officers attacked a number of young men at the Bab al-Asbat area during their arrival at the Aqsa Mosque’s gates, and chased them in the Old City’s alleys and forced them to stay away from the Mosque.
Police forces also obstructed Muslim worshiper’s entry to the Aqsa Mosque through its gates, where they stopped, in particular, many young men and checked their IDs.
Meanwhile, a number of Jerusalemite men and women, who were barred from entering the Mosque, had to perform the Friday prayer in nearby streets.
