OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation police barred Muslim worshipers from performing Eid al-Fitr prayers in the Bab al-Amud (Damascus Gate) area in Jerusalem on Friday morning, amid heightened security measures in and around the Old City.
According to Palestinian media sources, police forces fired tear gas canisters at Palestinians near the Old City’s Bab as-Sahira area as they attempted to reach the Aqsa Mosque and pray at its entrances, amid the ongoing closure of the Islamic holy site.
In a painful scene, “Takbir” chants for Eid al-Fitr echoed today from inside the Aqsa Mosque without the prayer being held, as the holy site remained closed for the 21st consecutive day, which is considered an unprecedented measure since the Israeli occupation of east Jerusalem in 1967.
In a related context, the Jerusalem Governorate said that the continued closure of the Aqsa Mosque compound and Palestinians’ inability to perform the Eid al‑Fitr prayer on Friday inside it marks a “dangerous and unprecedented escalation.”
The Governorate accused the Israeli occupation authority of seeking to impose new faits accomplis at the Aqsa Mosque and isolate it from its Palestinian and Islamic milieus.
The Governorate emphasized that Israel has no sovereignty over Occupied Jerusalem, condemning all its measures, including its closure of the Aqsa Mosque, as flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, UN resolutions, and the established status quo at the city’s holy sites.
It noted that the authority to open or close Al‑Aqsa Mosque rests exclusively with the Islamic Awqaf Administration, as it is the legal body entrusted with managing the Mosque’s affairs.
