Thousands of Palestinians Attend Friday Prayers at al-Aqsa

Date: 16 April 2021 - 20:44

News ID: ۸۹۲۰۵

AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Thousands of Palestinians streamed to al-Aqsa mosque in al-Quds on the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the largest such gathering since the coronavirus pandemic.
Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, head of the Waqf Islamic affairs council in al-Quds, told Anadolu Agency that 70,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque.
Last Ramadan, "They (Zionist regime authorities) did not allow anyone to enter al-Aqsa except for me,” he said.
By early afternoon, Palestinian women in headscarves and long robes were seated on the carpeted floor of the al-Aqsa mosque compound – considered the third holiest site in Islam – reading the Qur’an holy book.
Zionist police shut down roads around al-Quds as buses loaded with pilgrims drove in.
The Muslim prayers on the first Friday of this year’s Ramadan follow tensions in the city.
Earlier this week, Palestinians accused the Zionist regime of breaking into four mosque minarets and cutting wires to prevent the call for prayers from being broadcast on loudspeakers.
Jordan, custodian of Islamic sites in al-Quds, condemned the regime’s "blatant” violation of the status quo and accused it of provocation.
In a separate incident, a young Palestinian man lost his life after being run over by a Zionist settler in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian sources said the victim, identified as Ali Abu al-Khair, was struck near the city of Ariha on Thursday evening.
The man was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
"The heinous crime of an Israeli settler to run over Palestinian youth Ali Abu al-Khair from Balata Camp reflects the arrogance of settlers,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoa said in a statement.
"The repetition of crimes by the Israeli Occupation and settlers against our people in the West Bank stresses the need for the Palestinian resistance front to be given a free hand in order to activate all its tools and confront the crimes of the Occupation,” he added.