Thousands gather at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa for first Friday prayers of Ramadan
Agencies | Jerusalem
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Tens of thousands of believers flocked to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan for noon prayers.
From early morning, residents of cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank lined up at Israeli checkpoints to visit Al-Aqsa.
After two years of COVID restrictions, Israel has allowed some Palestinians from the West Bank who hold a travel permit to enter Jerusalem.
“We thought they (Israel) won’t let us enter due to the last escalation, but thank God everything is ok,” said Hussein Abayat from Bethlehem.
“Al-Aqsa is the most valuable thing we have, we do everything in our power to visit it and the rest is up to God.”
Israeli forces are on high alert across the country and there will be “no restrictions” in their fight to “eradicate terror”, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop a plateau in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City, is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East conflict.
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