OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), About 60,000 worshippers performed the Isha and Taraweeh prayers on Thursday evening in the courtyards of Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem.
The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said that around 60,000 people attended the prayers despite strict restrictions imposed by Israeli forces, which limited access to the Mosque and prevented residents from the West Bank from reaching it.
Israeli authorities also imposed tight controls on bringing in food, even for families arriving to break their fast who carried meals with them.
Palestinian and Jerusalem-based groups have called for increased Palestinian presence in the Aqsa Mosque, urging worshippers to maintain a constant presence during the holy month of Ramadan to counter the escalating Israeli measures aimed at emptying the holy site and isolating it from its Palestinian surroundings.
Local organizations emphasized that traveling to the holy site at this time is both a national and religious duty, aimed at breaking the restrictions imposed on the city and confronting policies that limit access to the Mosque, including repeated restrictions at its gates.
The calls also warned of growing activities by extremist Temple groups, backed by the Israeli government, which they say seek to increase incursions into the Mosque compound during Jewish holidays and other occasions, alongside efforts to limit the number of Muslim worshippers through age restrictions and military checkpoints.
Since the beginning of Ramadan, Israeli forces have imposed additional restrictions on access to Aqsa Mosque in an attempt to establish a new reality on the ground.
