Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- About 50,000 Palestinian worshipers performed today Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
Despite the massive deployment of Israeli occupation forces in the streets of the Old City and at the holy sites’ gates and in its vanicity, Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf confirmed that around 50,000 worshipers performed the Friday prayers at the mosque, today.
The Waqf said Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, 1948-occupied Palestine, and occupied Jerusalem succeeded in reaching the holy site and attending the Friday sermon and prayers.
The holy site had been, about three months ago, the centre of days of Israeli aggressions amid heightened tensions following a series of raids and attacks in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Israeli aggressions included holding the annual far-right “Flag March” on May 29.
Israeli occupation authorities allow settler incursions to the mosque since 2003 under the forces protection, despite repeated objections and warnings by the Palestinian religious authorities as the visits provoke worshippers of the mosque.
In 2021, 34,562 Israeli settlers broke into the holy site, setting a new record, as in 2020, 19,000 settlers broke into the mosque and 29,700 settlers in 2019, according to Al-Qastal, a Palestinian network hub for Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem.
Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times. The complex also includes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most sacred Christian sites in the world.
