OCCUPIED JERUSALEM,(Palestine Foundation Information Center) Tens of thousands of Palestinians performed the Friday prayer at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem despite the Israeli security measures that restricted their access to the holy site.
According to the Islamic Awqaf Administration in the holy city, about 40,000 Muslim worshipers observed the Friday khutba (sermon) and prayer at the Aqsa Mosque.
Afterwards, funeral prayers were also performed for the souls of the martyrs from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The Israeli occupation police reportedly prevented thousands of Muslim worshipers from entering the Mosque and many others from entering Jerusalem to observe the Friday khutba and prayer.
Meanwhile, a number of Jerusalemite men and women, who are banned from entering the Mosque, had to perform the Friday prayer in the holy city’s streets.
In a related context, senior Hamas official Haroun Nasiruddin has urged the Palestinian masses in Jerusalem and 1948 occupied Palestine and all those capable of entering Jerusalem to visit the Aqsa Mosque for prayers and protect it against settler violations and desecration.
In a statement last night, Nasiruddin stressed that the strong Muslim presence at the Aqsa Mosque is a practical step to confront the Israeli occupation’s measures and challenge its attempts to disconnect the holy site from its Islamic ties.
“Our people’s steadfastness in Jerusalem, despite demolition, banishment and persecution, sends a powerful message against the occupation’s escalations and asserts that its annexation, displacement and Judaization attempts will not succeed,” Nasiruddin said.
“We cannot condone the violations and plots that target Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque,” the Hamas official stressed.
“Any escalation in the occupation’s religious and Judaization war against our holy sites only accelerates its downfall and eventual removal from our land,” he added.
