250,000 Flock to Al-Aqsa on First Friday of Ramadan

day1ramadan — Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem. (Photo: via Social Media)

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers performed the first Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

Islamic endowment (Awqaf) director Azzam al-Khatib told Ma’an that an estimated 250,000 worshippers prayed in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, adding that the compound had been crowded since the “Al-Fajr” dawn prayers with worshipers from across the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as from foreign countries such as Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and South Africa.

He added that Israeli forces installed iron gates in some of the streets leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and flew a drone and a blimp overhead to monitor the worshipers.

This picture sums it all up!
From Qalandia checkpoint, while Palestinian women were heading to Al-Aqsa for Jumma prayer, yesterday. #Ramadan pic.twitter.com/lT6LzBqijs

— Palestine Social (@PalestineSocial) June 3, 2017

During Ramadan, Israeli authorities only grant permits to East Jerusalem to men above the age of 40, women of all ages, and children younger than 11 years of age from the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities allowed 100 Palestinians above the age of 55 from the besieged Gaza Strip to travel to occupied East Jerusalem in order to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, months after Israel suspended Friday Al-Aqsa visits for elderly Palestinians from the besieged coastal enclave in December.