Jerusalem (agencies)
More than eighty thousand people performed the prayer on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, amid large Israeli police reinforcements inside and around the city.
Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, Director General of the Jerusalem Endowments and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs, said: “Today, 100,000 Muslims prayed in the first Friday prayer of Ramadan, and the prayer took place quietly and ended safely.”
The Israeli police, who reinforced their forces in the city’s roads and alleys, estimated that “more than 80,000 worshipers came to Al-Aqsa Mosque.” In his Al-Aqsa sermon, Sheikh Muhammad Salim called for “the unity of Muslims and the unity of the Palestinian and Arab people,” and said, “Make your word on the heart of one man.”
Tens of thousands flocked to Al-Aqsa from Jerusalem and the West Bank, and from Arab towns and cities inside Israel.
The 26-year-old teacher, Ibtisam Barak, said: “I attend every Ramadan to Al-Aqsa Mosque, but this is the first Ramadan in which we face difficulty in transportation. This is very difficult for us.”
Abboud Hassan, 62, said: “Ramadan is the most important month of the year, and at this time we only care about Al-Aqsa Mosque, and no one can prevent us from praying in it, and the prayer today was quiet.” The month of Ramadan began amid an escalation in military actions, confrontations and attacks in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel. Since the beginning of this year, violence has killed 87 Palestinians. On the Israeli side, 13 Israelis were killed, including 12 civilians, including three minors, a policeman, and a Ukrainian woman, according to official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
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