Al-Quds, MINA – Tens of thousands of Palestinians performed Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday despite strict Israeli measures imposed on worshipers and at the entrances to the Mosque and Jerusalem’s Old City, the Palestine Information Center reports.
The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said approximately 70,000 worshipers performed Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli forces tightened restrictions on worshipers entering the Mosque and prevented dozens of young men from reaching it. They also arrested a young man near Bab Hutta in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Israeli forces erected metal barriers along city streets and around the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque, stopping worshipers and checking their identification. Earlier Friday, thousands of Palestinians also performed dawn prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque despite restrictions imposed by Israeli forces and their heavy deployment around the Mosque, the Old City and streets across Occupied Jerusalem.
Worshipers arrived at Al-Aqsa’s courtyards and prayer halls from various Palestinian areas, including towns inside Israel, the occupied West Bank and neighborhoods across Jerusalem. Dozens of young men from Jerusalem and Palestinian towns inside Israel gathered near the Yusufiya Cemetery, adjacent to Jerusalem’s city wall, where they performed dawn prayers amid a heavy Israeli security presence.
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Israeli authorities continue to escalate measures affecting Al-Aqsa Mosque amid efforts to impose temporal and spatial divisions at the site, alongside increased incursions by Israeli settlers during Jewish holidays. The high turnout despite restrictions demonstrates the deep religious and national significance of Al-Aqsa to Palestinians, with worshipers determined to maintain their presence at the holy site.[[
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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