OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Hamas Movement has called for intensified Palestinian presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, urging worshippers to protect the holy site from what it described as Israeli efforts to impose new restrictions and advance settlement agendas.
In a statement released on Friday, the group said Israeli occupation police forces deliberately obstructed access to Al-Aqsa during the first Friday of Ramadan, limiting the number of worshippers to around 10,000 and imposing age and permit-based entry restrictions.
Hamas described the measures as violations of freedom of worship and attempts to alter the status quo at the compound.
The Movement urged Palestinians in Jerusalem, in 1948 occupied Palestine and those able to reach the city from the West Bank to increase their presence at the Mosque, calling it a religious and national duty amid escalating tensions.
Separately, an Israeli court extended the detention of Jerusalem-based journalist Nisreen Salem al-Abed until Sunday after police appealed a prior decision ordering her release under house arrest.
Al-Abed was arrested on February 15 while reporting from al-Zahra Street in occupied Jerusalem. She faces allegations of incitement and working with a banned media outlet. Israeli forces also raided her home in the Old City and damaged its contents, according to local sources.
The developments come amid heightened Israeli measures in Jerusalem during Ramadan and growing concerns over restrictions on media activity and access to holy sites.
