JERUSALEM, 6 October 2007 — Tens of thousands of Muslims prayed without incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem on the fourth Friday of Ramadan under a heavy Israeli police presence. About 130,000 Palestinians prayed at the site, third holiest to Muslims who know it as Al-Haram Al-Sharif, Israeli police and Palestinian religious authorities said.
Israeli troops in jeeps, on foot and horseback were deployed at crossing points from the West Bank into Jerusalem to control the crowds. At the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, harried troops waved clubs, shouted and occasionally used stun grenades as tempers flared and frustrated Palestinians surged toward the roadblock. One elderly man fainted, and was treated by an army medic on the scene. No serious injuries were reported. Many women also fell on the ground at the fence.
The faithful participated in what could be the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, whose precise end next week will depend on the sighting of the new moon. More than 3,000 police patrolled the streets of occupied East Jerusalem to prevent any disturbances during what is often a tense time. Ramadan usually coincides with Jewish high holidays and Israel severely restricts access to Al-Aqsa.
“In normal times a half a million people would have come, but a lot of people couldn’t come because of Israeli closures,” Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Hussein told AFP. Israel limited the access of Palestinians from the West Bank to women over 40 and men over 50. The restrictions did not apply to Palestinians residing in annexed East Jerusalem, who have Israeli identity cards, or to Israeli Arabs.
While thousands of Palestinians that fit the criteria were able to pass through the checkpoints, tens of thousands were prevented from doing so by the Israeli soldiers, and shoving matches ensued.
Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa regularly draw thousands of worshippers, and crowds are bigger than usual during Ramadan. Israel clamped a closure on the West Bank last week, barring Palestinians from entering Israel, citing concern of possible attacks during the seven-day Jewish festival of Sukkot.
