Thousands of worshipers performed Friday prayer in the vicinity of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque under tight safety measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Thousands of worshipers have flocked since dawn from Jerusalem city the West Bank and the 1948 occupied Palestine to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli police also imposed violations on several worshipers and set up barriers to impede the access of West Bank residents to Al-Aqsa and seized the ID cards of citizens at the gates of the Mosque.

Friday Khutba (sermon)

During the Friday Khutba the preacher of Al-Aqsa Sheikh Yusef Abu Sneina praised the stationing of Jerusalemites in the Mosque.

Abu Sneina asserted that the people of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) are the owners of this Mosque and have persevered in it despite the attacks they are exposed to.

The preacher said “Al-Aqsa will be protected despite the occupation’s aggression against its sanctities its attempts to control it deporting the Palestinians and despite the siege imposed on its gates.”

He called on Jerusalemites to attend all prayers and station in the courtyards of the Mosque. He also called upon the Jerusalemite merchants who are suffering from the occupation’s policies to be patient and steadfast.

About 15000 Palestinian worshipers performed Friday prayer in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque under tight safety measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Worshipers were spread out in the covered courtyards and mosques in Al-Aqsa and dozens of volunteers worked on placing spacing tapes and distributing masks gloves and prayer rugs.

During the Friday Khutba (sermon) the preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Muhammad Hussein warned of campaigns targeting the younger generation that try to strip them of their history civilization and identity.

He stressed that these attempts which seek to dismantle the social fabric in Jerusalem aim to spread chaos and imbalance in the society.

Hussein stated that the occupation is launching a large-scale attack on Jerusalem and its people real estate and sanctities stressing that all these frenzied plans and campaigns in secret and in public are well-known. “Jerusalem is deeply rooted in history and all these campaigns will not harm it” he added.

He added that all the incursions attacks and attempts to change the fait accompli will not alter the fact that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims only.

Sheikh Hussein said “Al-Aqsa Mosque has no place except in Jerusalem and will remain in the hearts of the believers who defended it from the first period of Islam to our present time”. He finally called on Jerusalemites to intensify their presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque.