Hussein told Arab News that “the worshipers succeeded to reach the mosque despite the strict Israeli measures at the military checkpoint surrounding the occupied city of Jerusalem.”
Since the start of Ramadan, the Israeli security forces have only allowed Palestinian married men aged 50 and over and women aged 45 and over to enter Jerusalem.
Arab Palestinians inside Israel and those living in East Jerusalem do not face restrictions in visiting the mosque compound, the place where a Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Since then Palestinians from the West Bank have had an increasingly difficult time entering Jerusalem. With occasional exceptions, Palestinians from the Gaza Strip cannot get permission to visit the city. Hussein said that “the Israeli suppressive measures prevented thousands of Palestinian worshippers from the West Bank from reaching Al-Aqsa.” “The Israelis are saying that they lifted restrictions in Ramadan but tens of thousands were barred from reaching Al-Aqsa for prayers.”
Israeli security sources said that thousands of Israeli policemen were deployed in Jerusalem’s Old City and the mosque compound “to prevent disturbances by anyone.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said that violent clashes erupted between Palestinian, Israeli and foreign activists at the Qalandyah and the Rachel checkpoints, to the north and the south of Jerusalem.
The sources said that the activists organized a demonstration to pressure Israeli authorities to remove military checkpoints around the holy city. The sources said that Israeli border guards used clubs, stun grenades and water cannons to disperse the protesters. The Israeli soldiers also closed the checkpoints to prevent protesters from reaching them. Some protesters sustained light injuries.
