Many entered Jerusalem’s Old City through Damascus Gate to reach the mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, with hundreds of people heading in the same direction under the watchful eye of Israeli police.
Thousands stood shoulder to shoulder in the mosque’s compound as the prayer resonated on speakers, prostrating themselves on prayer mats under a sunny sky with their backs to the shrine’s iconic golden dome, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
While most worshippers live in east Jerusalem or Israel proper, some crossed Israeli checkpoints to reach the mosque from the occupied West Bank, including at Qalandia, the main passage point between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
An AFP journalist witnessed a large crowd waiting to be allowed in by Israeli soldiers, while troops in riot gear stood by.
The Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian‑run body that administers the site, reported that 80,000 worshippers came to the compound for the prayer.
Israel deployed thousands of extra police officers in Jerusalem to watch over the holy city for the length of Ramadan, and issued the same travel restrictions as last year for Palestinian residents of the West Bank — which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Israel announced it was issuing just 10,000 permits for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank wishing to attend weekly Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, only available to women over 50, men over 55, and children under 12.
Um Awad, a West Bank Palestinian woman who applied for a permit that was denied, was not allowed to cross the checkpoint into Jerusalem.
“They are only allowing a small number to obtain permits. We tried and applied, some obtained permits, while others were denied. It is wrong for them to prevent us from praying,” she told AFP.
“Even if they prevent us from going today, I will come next Friday and the Friday after that, God willing, because no one except God can prevent us from going to Al-Aqsa,” said Jihad Bisharat, a Palestinian man who was denied entry to Jerusalem at Qalandia checkpoint.
Jerusalem police’s spokesman said in a statement that “the prayer concluded without incident.”