JERUSALEM 

Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Al-Aqsa Mosque on the 2nd Friday of Ramadan to perform the weekly prayer.

Nearly 80,000 Muslims attended the prayer in the Al-Aqsa mosque, Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director-general of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, told Anadolu.

This has been the lowest number of worshippers attending a Friday prayer in Al-Aqsa within the last two years due to Israeli restrictions on tens of thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank.

The Islamic Waqf figures showed that 250,000 worshippers attended the prayer in 2023, and 120,000 gathered in 2024.

Last week, 90,000 Palestinians gathered for the first weekly prayer of the holy month of Ramadan in Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Khatib said.

Israel deployed 3,000 forces early Friday across the roads leading to the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, according to a police statement.

The Palestinian group Hamas condemned Israel’s decision and restrictions to prevent Palestinian worshippers from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and urged “Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and within Israel to intensify their efforts to visit and defend Al-Aqsa by continuing their prayers and resisting the Israeli-imposed restrictions."

On March 6, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved stricter restrictions on Palestinian worshippers’ access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Fridays during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Under the new restrictions, only men over the age of 55, women over 50, and children under 12 will be permitted to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The decision coincides with ongoing daily incursions by hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month alongside increasing restrictions on Palestinians traveling from the West Bank.

Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have imposed strict measures limiting Palestinians’ access from the West Bank to East Jerusalem.

Palestinians consider these restrictions as part of Israel’s broader efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.