Al-Aqsa Mosque Empty During Friday Prayer Due To Israeli Restrictions

AL-QUDS – The restrictions of Israeli soldiers to prevent Palestinians from entering the mosque al Aqsa for the eighth Friday in a row and the end of a humanitarian pause are alarming.

As the temporary ceasefire during the Israeli-Hamas conflict ends the Israeli authorities have increased their restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers to enter the Holy Al Aqsa Mosque. The restrictions have entered the eighth day today with around 10,000 worshippers facing restrictions to enter the mosque.

As per the Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem, an anonymous official commented that only 3500 worshippers were allowed to enter and pray in the mosque for Friday prayers which is indeed a low count. Usually, the mosque Al Aqsa on Fridays has a  total of 50,000 worshippers.

The official added that only the elderly were allowed to enter the Mosque and the mosque courtyard was empty the whole time. The restrictions though have been in place since the war started however it got more strict on Friday.

Added to this the Israeli police arrested young residents from reaching the third holiest site Mosque Al Aqsa whereas hundreds of other Palestinians were forced to pray in the streets.

To spread more terror in the area the Israeli police attacked the worshippers in the Wadi Al Joz neighborhood and fired tear gas canisters. They chased the worshippers through the streets and hit them hard to stop them from reaching the mosque. Meanwhile, the Israelis also ended the so-called humanitarian pause after 12 hours in Gaza on Friday morning 

The Israeli airstrikes targeted areas in the North, center, and South of the Strip claiming 32 lives within 3 hours. 

The pause was supposed to allow the entry of humanitarian aid and evacuation of the dead and wounded who have been in the Israeli siege since November.