Israel Limits Palestinian Pilgrims at Al-Aqsa During the First Friday Prayer of Ramadan

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/philippe collard

JAKARTA - Israel has strictly limited the number of Palestinian worshippers from the West Bank who want to enter East Jerusalem to perform the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, by imposing strict measures and requiring security approval first.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the morning at military checkpoints around Jerusalem in an attempt to reach the mosque, but Israeli forces barred most of them from entering, although some of them had previously issued permits, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

In addition, the Israeli army deployed a large number of troops at checkpoints leading to the city, with senior military officers present and tight security in place.

"Thousands of West Bank residents crowded at the Qalandiya checkpoint, and the occupation authorities did not allow them to enter on the grounds that the number that had been set was allowed for Friday, only 10,000 people and it had been reached," the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a statement.

Israel has stepped up its security alert in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with the start of Ramadan on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, Israeli authorities have stepped up arrests and issued expulsion orders in East Jerusalem ahead of Ramadan, a Palestinian human rights group said.

Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, citing international resolutions that do not recognize Israel's occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1980.

Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Israeli military and illegal settlers have intensified operations throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem, by carrying out killings, house demolitions, expulsions of Palestinians, and expansion of settlements.