JERUSALEM

Despite strict Israeli restrictions, around 80,000 Palestinian worshipers gathered for Friday prayers for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

"Eighty thousand worshippers performed Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque today,” Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director-general of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, told Anadolu.

Worshippers began arriving as early as Thursday, braving heavy rains and Israeli-imposed restrictions. Hundreds remained inside the mosque overnight for a spiritual retreat as the last 10 nights of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started.

For the third consecutive Friday since the start of Ramadan, Israeli police were heavily deployed at the entrances of Jerusalem’s Old City, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, as well as in the surrounding alleys and courtyards.

Israeli authorities had previously announced the deployment of 3,000 police officers in the city on Fridays throughout Ramadan.

Following the prayers, worshippers spread across Al-Aqsa’s courtyards and prayer halls for Holy Quran recitation and religious study circles. Thousands typically stay at the mosque for iftar – the fast-breaking dinner – and Tarawih prayers later in the evening.

However, Israeli authorities barred Palestinian men under age 55 and women under 50 from the occupied West Bank from entering Jerusalem, preventing tens of thousands from reaching the mosque.

Israel has enforced strict restrictions on Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa since the beginning of its ongoing war on Gaza in October 2023.

The Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem has permitted worshippers to remain in the mosque for spiritual retreat during the last 10 days of Ramadan, and it is customary for Israeli authorities to halt illegal settler incursions into the mosque during this period – an annual practice since such incursions began in 2003.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where at least 937 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza onslaught on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.