The last Friday before Ramadan, Israel prevents hundreds of Palestinians from praying at Al-Aqsa

The Israeli police surrounded Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented hundreds of Palestinians from reaching it to perform the last Friday prayer before the month of Ramadan.

Hundreds of Palestinians were unable to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the last Friday prayer before the month of Ramadan, due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation police.

The Israeli occupation police prevented the young men from passing through the checkpoints at the entrances to the city’s Old City and the outer gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Like every Friday prayer since the beginning of the war on Gaza, the occupation police beat worshipers in Jerusalem and prevent them from praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Large police forces were deployed in the alleys of the Old City and its surroundings, and a number of police personnel were deployed in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Hundreds of young men were forced to perform prayers in the streets near the Old City after they were prevented from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli police set up checkpoints at the gates of the Old City and at the outer doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to local sources, the number of worshipers who were able to perform Friday prayers today at Al-Aqsa reached about 20,000.

In turn, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Salim, called on worshipers in his Friday sermon to “travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and other months of the year.”

The Israeli occupation police have imposed restrictions on the entry of worshipers into Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the war against the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, but they are strengthening them during Fridays.

The devastating war waged by the Israeli occupation on the Gaza Strip resulted in tens of thousands of civilian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, a humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure.