Tens of thousands of Palestinians performed the first Friday prayer of the blessed month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards, as well as at the barriers, amidst strict measures and obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation forces.
The Islamic Endowment Authority affirmed that around 90,000 Muslims performed the first Friday prayer in the holy month of Ramadan at the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinian worshipers were stopped for long hours at the Israeli Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates the occupied West Bank from Occupied Jerusalem, despite the stormy weather.
Several worshipers were permitted to pass the checkpoint to head to the Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Since the early morning hours, Israeli occupation forces deployed extensively at the military checkpoints leading to the mosque, preventing a large number of worshippers from the West Bank from entering and subjecting them to intensive ID checks.
Additionally, thousands of Israeli police officers were deployed to the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as around Al-Aqsa Mosque and its gates ahead of the prayers to restrict Muslim access to the holy site.
At the checkpoints surrounding Jerusalem, thousands of worshippers were turned back and denied access to the city under the pretext of not having the necessary permits, according to Palestinian sources.
