RAMALLAH, Feb 27 (KUNA) - At least100,000 worshippers performed the second Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite intensified Israeli occupation military restrictions.
In a press statement, the Jerusalem Governorate said Friday that said Israeli forces tightened measures against Palestinians arriving from West Bank governorates through the Qalandia Checkpoint north of the city and at the Bethlehem crossing to the south, preventing hundreds, particularly the elderly, from entering.
The governorate noted that Israeli authorities continued targeting visitors to Al-Aqsa Mosque, issuing more than 280 expulsion orders barring individuals from entering the mosque compound. Those banned were forced to perform prayers at the adjacent Bab al-Rahma Cemetery.
It added that Israeli forces continue to arrest worshippers from inside Al-Aqsa, particularly during the Isha and Taraweeh prayers, and detain several young men for field inspections. Measures also include preventing the entry of iftar and suhoor meals, disrupting the work of the medical clinic and banning the installation of umbrellas to serve worshippers.
The governorate further said that these measures have also targeted journalists in occupied Jerusalem, through arrests, summons and investigations, as well as restrictions on media work, including expulsion from Al-Aqsa Mosque and preventing field coverage of violations in what it described as a clear attempt to obscure events and conceal the reality of restrictions from public opinion. (end) nq.aa