300,000 Palestinians Observe Laylat al-Qadr at Al-Aqsa

Date: 18 April 2023 - 22:51

News ID: ۱۱۴۱۴۵

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS --
Nearly 300,000 Palestinians have observed Laylat al-Qadr or the Night of Destiny at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Occupied Al-Quds despite strict restrictions imposed by the occupying regime of Israel.
Muslim worshippers from the occupied West Bank and Al-Quds participated in night-long prayers at Islam’s third holiest site Monday, media reports said.
Laylat al-Qadr marks the night when the Holy Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace upon Him). According to the Islamic tradition, it has taken place on one of the final ten odd nights of the holy month of Ramadan.
The gathering was held despite the high presence of Zionist forces at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the barriers erected around Al-Quds.
Muhammad Hamada, a spokesman for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, said the presence of worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque dealt a blow to the Israeli occupation in trying to Judaize Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds.
The spokesman urged worshippers to continue to flock to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound even after the holy month of Ramadan.
Since the start of Ramadan this year, Zionist forces have carried out several deadly raids at the mosque, attacking peaceful worshippers during prayers, with an aim of paving the way for incursions by Israeli settlers.
Settler incursions under police protection into Al-Aqsa Mosque have been on the rise

in recent years, leading to frequent confrontations with Palestinians at the mosque, with many Palestinians injured, arrested, or martyred.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to an agreement signed between the occupying regime of Israel and the Jordanian government, non-Muslim worship at the compound is prohibited. However, Jewish extremists have increasingly attempted to pray in the compound and Israeli security forces have often turned a blind eye to the practice.

In January, the occupying regime’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in a move Palestinians called a “deliberate provocation”, ignoring warnings from Israeli politicians that his appearance at the holy site would inflame tensions.

As a site that carries religious and national significance, Palestinians are alert to any attempts to change the status quo of Al-Aqsa.

The increased number of Jewish extremists entering the compound, and the frequent storming of the site by Israeli security forces, including inside the prayer hall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, has increased Palestinian anger.

Palestinians see Al-Aqsa as one of the few national symbols over which they retain some element of control. They are, however, fearful of a slow encroachment by Zionist groups akin to what has happened at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil, where half of the mosque was turned into a synagogue after 1967, which has gradually increased in size.

Palestinians are also worried about far-right Zionist movements that seek to demolish the Islamic structures in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and build a Jewish temple in their place.