Thousands of Muslim worshippers took to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in the Old City of Jerusalem, to perform prayers for the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Head of the public relations office at the Islamic Endowment Department, Firas al-Dibs, said that more than 180,000 Muslim worshippers took to the Al-Aqsa to perform Friday prayers.
Al-Dibs said that the Muslim worshippers were from both the occupied West Bank and from Jerusalem City itself, in addition to worshippers from other Arab countries, including Jordan, Turkey, and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that Israeli police forces, who were situated at the gates of the Al-Aqsa compound, banned its crews from entry.
The reason for the ban remained unknown and prevented the PRCS crews from providing medical care to anyone suffering from the heat and overcrowding.
Thousands of #Muslims hold #Ramadan Friday Prayers in al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds.#FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/XMzkb939iY
— Press TV (@PressTV) May 10, 2019
Palestinian residents of the West Bank are not allowed to access occupied East Jerusalem or Israel without an Israeli-issued permit.
Ramadan typically sees a slight ease of permit restrictions on Palestinians, particularly women, even if the thousands who do get permits are still subjected to long waits and checkpoints and searches by armed Israeli forces.
(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)
