Israel imposes strict security cordon around Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Israeli police shut down for the second day in a row several gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning, preventing Muslim worshipers under the age of 50 from entering the mosque to perform prayers.

More than 100 students studying at the mosque’s schools were also stopped from reaching their schools.

The director of Al-Aqsa Foundation for Religious Endowments and Islamic Heritage Sheikh Azzam Khatib said the students waited for nearly an hour in the street until the foundation held an urgent meeting with the Israeli police urging them to allow access to schools. “We hope the Israeli police will not repeat these practices,” Khatib said.

In a statement Khatib said: “The Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Muslim worshipers are totally unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. We will work to protect the mosque’s Arab and Islamic identity from the Israeli ambitions. Israeli police allowed us to open only three out of the ten gates.”

Israeli police imposed similar procedures outside the mosque’s gates on Sunday leading to scuffles between them and Muslim worshipers. The Israeli actions coincide with the Jewish festival of Purim which commemorates the rescue of Jews from genocide during the Persian Empire according to Esther Bible.

While Israeli police deny entry to Muslim worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers, they allow Jewish settlers to storm the mosque almost daily to organize tours within its grounds.