{"id":301040,"date":"2026-02-20T12:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/301040\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T12:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:46:08","slug":"muslims-gather-for-first-friday-prayers-of-ramadan-at-al-aqsa-mosque-in-jerusalem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/301040\/","title":{"rendered":"Muslims gather for first Friday prayers of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) \u2014 Tens of thousands of Muslims gathered under heavy security at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, among them Palestinians who crossed into Israel from the West Bank. <\/p>\n

The prayers at Al-Aqsa took place for the first time since a shaky ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October. It was the first opportunity many had to leave the West Bank and pray at the site in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City since Ramadan last year. <\/p>\n

But Israel restricted the number of Palestinians allowed to enter Israel from the West Bank to 10,000 on Friday, and only allowed men over 55 and women over 50 as well as children up to 12. It has imposed similar restrictions in the past due to security concerns.<\/p>\n

The area, which Jews call the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary. Today it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.<\/p>\n

It has frequently been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n

Israeli police said more than 3,000 police officers were deployed across Jerusalem. They said their presence was not meant to show aggression or force but was aimed at providing help in case of an emergency. <\/p>\n

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Jerusalem\u2019s Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian religious authority that administers the compound, said there were 80,000 in attendance. In normal times, Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa can draw up to 200,000.<\/p>\n

Ezaldeen Mustafah, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was among those lamenting the restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more people than this,\u201d Mustafah said.<\/p>\n

Ramadan in Gaza<\/p>\n

Many Palestinians said the month\u2019s typically festive spirit is eluding them as they struggle with grief and losses following the two-year conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously, there were mosques, but today all the mosques have been bombed,\u201d said Ramiz Firwana, a Gaza resident who gathered with other worshippers for a Friday sermon and prayers held in schoolyard. <\/p>\n

On Thursday evening, families sat amid the rubble and destruction for Iftar, the fast-breaking meal. <\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the displacement, the pain, and the destruction, we want to rejoice and live,\u201d said Mohammad Kollab, from Khan Younis. \u201cWe are a people who want to live, we are not a people destined only for destruction and killing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory\u2019s residents. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in their attack on Oct. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n

The Oct. 10 U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal attempted to halt more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporters Sam Metz contributed from Ramallah, West Bank and Wafaa Shurafa from Gaza City, Gaza Strip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) \u2014 Tens of thousands of Muslims gathered under heavy security at the Al-Aqsa Mosque…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[120,69,122,51,85,9151,46,1984,61,3794,151853,43,7319,121,77,126],"class_list":{"0":"post-301040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-2024-2025-mideast-wars","9":"tag-gaza-strip","10":"tag-general-news","11":"tag-hamas","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-islam","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-israel-government","16":"tag-israel-hamas-war","17":"tag-jerusalem","18":"tag-mohammad-kollab","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-religion","21":"tag-war-and-unrest","22":"tag-west-bank","23":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}