In the midst of rising tensions in the area, AFP correspondents reported that tens of thousands of worshipers held Friday prayers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the first of the holy month of Ramadan.
Authorities reported that despite worries about a recent spike in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, prayers at the third holiest location in Islam were peaceful.
Conflicts and violence between Palestinians and Israelis, especially during Ramadan, have previously taken place in the Old City of east Jerusalem’s mosque compound, which Israel has annexed.
The prayers were peaceful, and everything went well, Azzam al-Khatib, chairman of the Jordanian Waqf Islamic affairs council, who oversees the compound, told AFP.
More than 80,000 worshipers, according to Israeli officials, while 100,000, according to the Waqf, joined the afternoon prayer.
2,300 officers had been spread out throughout the city for the day, according to Israeli authorities.
According to an AFP reporter, a sizable crowd entered the complex through the Bab al-Silsilah entrance carrying prayer mats while others posed for pictures in front of the mosque’s recognizable golden dome.
The holiest site for Judaism, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is constructed on top of the holy Muslim site.
A Hamas banner was being flown from one of the compound’s porticos when an AFP photographer observed a man in a mask waving the flag of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of the Islamist organization Hamas.
Aboud Hassan, 62, had left Nablus in the northern West Bank early on Friday morning.
“Ramadan is the most important month of the year, and nothing matters to me except Al-Aqsa,” he said.
“Nobody can stop us from praying at Al-Aqsa, thank God. The prayers today went smoothly and without problems, thank God.”
An AFP photographer saw huge queues at Qalandiya checkpoint, one of the main crossing points from the occupied West Bank into Israel, after Israeli authorities had eased restrictions on West Bank Palestinians visiting Jerusalem for prayer.
Last week Hamas warned Israel it would react to any “violations” at the compound during Ramadan.
Saleh al-Aruri, the deputy head of the political bureau for the Gaza-based organization, allegedly made the remark in response to any attempt by Israel to “impose” its policies during Ramadan.
87 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians, have died in the Israeli-Palestinian war since the year’s beginning.
According to an AFP count based on official sources from both parties, 14 Israeli adults and children, including members of the security forces and civilians, and one Ukrainian civilian have died during the same time frame.
