OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Around 70,000 worshipers performed Friday prayer at the Aqsa Mosque amid restrictions and measures imposed by Israeli forces around the Old City of Jerusalem and its gates.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli forces removed Palestinian citizens banned from entering the Mosque, escorted them outside the Old City walls, and prevented them from praying at the holy site.
In a related development, Israeli municipal crews issued fines to motorcycles parked near Herod’s Gate as an arbitrary measure targeting worshipers.
Palestinian calls were issued urging people to mobilize and travel to Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem and gather in large numbers to perform Friday prayer, in response to the escalating attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.
The calls emphasized the importance of maintaining a constant presence at Aqsa and seizing every opportunity to strengthen Palestinian presence at the holy site to protect it from increasing efforts to alter its identity.
They also stressed that the image of large crowds of worshipers at Aqsa sends a powerful message in defense of the Mosque and affirms the religious and historical rights of Palestinians to it.
This comes amid warnings of increasing settler incursions, with settlers exploiting religious and seasonal occasions to implement plans aimed at changing the status quo at the Aqsa Mosque.
Aqsa preacher Sheikh Ikrima Sabri said that settler incursions into the holy site’s courtyards, along with provocative practices, are part of repeated attempts to impose new realities. He noted that such incursions, which coincide with what is called “Independence Day,” are not the first and will not be the last.
He added that during these incursions, settlers perform Talmudic rituals, raise Israeli flags, and engage in loud activities inside the Mosque’s courtyards in an attempt to impose a new character on the holy site.
