Jerusalem (Union)
About 125,000 Palestinians held prayers on the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, despite Israeli restrictions.
The Director General of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said that 125,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Worshipers began arriving to pray at Al-Aqsa the day before yesterday, and the Islamic Endowments Department reported that about 120,000 performed the evening and Tarawih prayers in the mosque. Hundreds of worshipers retreated to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the night hours, as thousands participated in the dawn prayer in the mosque. The area witnessed a heavy presence of Israeli police forces at the entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem, which includes the mosque, and its surroundings and alleys.
The Israeli authorities prevented Palestinian males under the age of 55 and women under the age of 50 who reside in the West Bank from entering Jerusalem to reach the mosque.
These restrictions prevented tens of thousands of worshipers from reaching the mosque to perform prayers.
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