OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Palestinian and Islamic groups have called on Thursday for mass prayers at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem during the final Friday of Ramadan as Israel continues to restrict access to the holy site.
Jerusalemite activists urged Palestinians to travel to the Old City and gather near the Mosque’s gates, praying at the closest possible points if Israeli occupation police forces prevented entry.
The calls come as Muslims enter the last ten days of Ramadan, when tens of thousands of worshipers traditionally gather at Al-Aqsa for nightly prayers and spiritual retreat.
Observers say praying at the Mosque’s gates or nearby streets carries symbolic significance, sending a message of steadfastness and rejection of attempts to impose new realities at the compound.
Meanwhile, the Al-Quds International Foundation called on Jordan to officially announce the reopening of the Mosque and invite worshipers to perform prayers there. The group warned that Israel’s closure of the site aims to undermine the authority of the Jordanian Islamic Waqf, which administers the compound.
Speaking to Jordan’s minister of endowments, Mohammad al-Khalayleh, the Foundation official Ayman Zaidan said the closure is part of a systematic attempt to change the status quo at Al-Aqsa and pave the way for new arrangements at the holy site.
Israel closed the Mosque under what it described as “public safety” measures following the US-Israeli assault on Iran on 28 February. The closure has now continued for nearly two weeks.
Jordan’s government has rejected the move, calling it illegal and demanding the Mosque be reopened immediately.
Al-Khalayleh said the closure represents an assault on Al-Aqsa and an attempt to undermine the role of the Islamic Waqf and Jordan’s historical custodianship over the 144,000-square-meter holy compound.
