JERUSALEM 

For the sixth consecutive week, Israeli authorities imposed tight restrictions on Palestinians, banning them from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for Friday prayers, leaving the mosque all but empty.

An official with the Waqf Department in Jerusalem told Anadolu that only around 4,000 Palestinians, most of them elderly, had managed to reach the venerated mosque to perform Friday prayers – down sharply from the usual 50,000.

The official, who asked not to be named, added that the mosque appeared to be empty due to strict Israeli control of the streets.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that Israeli forces have been heavily deployed across occupied East Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City and the entrances leading to the mosque.

Hundreds of Palestinians were forced to perform Friday prayers in the streets near the Old City area after being barred from entering the mosque itself.

The Israeli side gave no reasons for restricting Muslims’ access to Al-Aqsa for prayers.

Before the Israeli restrictions, at least 50,000 Palestinians used to perform the Friday prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque, particularly on the holy day of Friday.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank and East Jerusalem since fighting broke out on Oct. 7 between Palestinian groups and Israel in Gaza, killing over 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them women and children.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Oct. 7 in addition to over 2,700 others injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​