Israel bars Palestinians from praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Dome of the Rock (L), in the Al-Aqsa mosques compound and the Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem’s Old City on 15 January 2021 [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli police on Friday prevented dozens of Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Friday prayer, Anadolu Agency reports.

An Anadolu Agency correspondent saw Israeli police deployed in checkpoints at the entrances to the Old City in Jerusalem.

Israeli police checked the worshippers’ identification cards before putting them in special buses to their homes.

For years, worshipping at the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been limited just to residents of occupied East Jerusalem and Arab cities, and towns in Israel.

Earlier on Friday, thousands of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem and Arab cities in Israel flocked to the Al-Aqsa Mosque despite the heavy rains to perform the Friday prayers.

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