Jerusalem: Thousands of Muslims arrived here JerusalemThe Al-Aqsa Mosque for afternoon prayers on the first Friday of Ramadan, which passed away peacefully despite concerns of a repeat of the Israeli-Palestinian violence that erupted during the Muslim holy month last year.
Since morning, residents of cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank have lined up at Israeli checkpoints to travel to al-Aqsa.
After two years of COVID restrictions, Israel Some Palestinians from the West Bank who have a travel permit are allowed to enter Jerusalem.
But tensions have risen once again in the holy city of Christians, Jews and Muslims. A Palestinian gunman shot and killed two people in a Tel Aviv bar on Thursday, the latest in a string of deadly attacks in Israel.
“We thought they (Israel) would not let us enter because of the last hike, but thank God everything is fine,” said Bethlehem’s Hussein Abayat. “Al-Aqsa is the most valuable thing we have, we do everything in our power to see it and the rest is up to God.”
The Israeli military is on high alert across the country and will have “no sanctions” in their fight to “end the terror”, said Israel’s prime minister. Naftali Bennett said in a statement.
Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas The Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that it condemned Thursday’s attack, warning against “repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and provocative actions of extremist settler groups”.
A few days before the start of Ramadan, far-right Israeli parliamentarian Itamar Ben-Gavir visited the al-Aqsa mosque complex, known to the Jews Temple MountIn a move seen by the Palestinians as a provocation.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop a plateau in the middle of Jerusalem’s Old City, is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East conflict.
Last year during the fasting month there were clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at night. Palestinian displacement threats in East Jerusalem and police raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque helped ignite the 11-day Israel-Gaza War, which killed more than 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, later annexing it, in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Since morning, residents of cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank have lined up at Israeli checkpoints to travel to al-Aqsa.
After two years of COVID restrictions, Israel Some Palestinians from the West Bank who have a travel permit are allowed to enter Jerusalem.
But tensions have risen once again in the holy city of Christians, Jews and Muslims. A Palestinian gunman shot and killed two people in a Tel Aviv bar on Thursday, the latest in a string of deadly attacks in Israel.
“We thought they (Israel) would not let us enter because of the last hike, but thank God everything is fine,” said Bethlehem’s Hussein Abayat. “Al-Aqsa is the most valuable thing we have, we do everything in our power to see it and the rest is up to God.”
The Israeli military is on high alert across the country and will have “no sanctions” in their fight to “end the terror”, said Israel’s prime minister. Naftali Bennett said in a statement.
Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas The Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that it condemned Thursday’s attack, warning against “repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and provocative actions of extremist settler groups”.
A few days before the start of Ramadan, far-right Israeli parliamentarian Itamar Ben-Gavir visited the al-Aqsa mosque complex, known to the Jews Temple MountIn a move seen by the Palestinians as a provocation.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop a plateau in the middle of Jerusalem’s Old City, is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East conflict.
Last year during the fasting month there were clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at night. Palestinian displacement threats in East Jerusalem and police raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque helped ignite the 11-day Israel-Gaza War, which killed more than 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, later annexing it, in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.