OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Israeli occupation authorities continued to keep Al-Aqsa Mosque closed on Friday, preventing worshipers from entering the holy site for the final Friday prayer of Ramadan as the closure entered its 14th consecutive day.
Hundreds of Palestinians instead performed prayers near the Mosque after Israeli occupation police forces blocked access to the compound and sealed roads leading to it with metal barriers.
Worshipers gathered at the closest points they could reach, including Bab al-Sahira (Herod’s Gate), the Bab al-Amud area, and the Mohammed al-Fateh Mosque in Silwan.
Residents of Jerusalem had also performed the evening and Tarawih prayers on Thursday near the Mosque’s entrances after being prevented from entering the compound.
Israel says the closure is linked to what it describes as security conditions tied to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. However, Palestinian officials warn that the move is part of a broader political and ideological effort to alter the religious and historical status quo at the site.
The Jerusalem governorate also warned of escalating incitement by extremist groups advocating the construction of a Jewish temple at the location.
Observers say the courtyards of Al-Aqsa were empty during the final days of Ramadan, a period that typically draws tens of thousands of worshipers from Jerusalem and the West Bank.
According to Jerusalem affairs researcher Fakhri Abu Diab, the Mosque is currently closed to the public, with only guards, Islamic Waqf staff and the muezzin allowed inside.
This marks the second consecutive Friday in which Muslims have been prevented from holding prayers at the compound and the first time since 1967 that nightly Ramadan prayers have not been held inside Al-Aqsa’s courtyards.
