Israel releases detainees conditional on ban from Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Israeli occupation authorities released on Wednesday evening most of the Palestinian worshippers detained at Al-Aqsa Mosque overnight on Tuesday, on condition that they accept a ban on entering the holy site.

“Out of 440 Palestinians detained at Al-Aqsa Mosque — residents of Jerusalem, Israel and the West Bank — 379 were released after accepting a ban on entering the mosque and Jerusalem’s Old City,” explained Mohammad Mahmoud, a lawyer with Wadi Al-Hilwa Information Centre. He pointed out that they were investigated and had their basic details recorded by the Israeli occupation police before they were released.

However, according to Mahmoud, 14 of the detainees were taken to prison pending further investigations, and 47 were transferred to police custody. “There were 65 minors among the detainees,” he added.

In the wake of the vicious Israeli assaults on Muslim worshippers in the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa, the Religious Endowment Council in Jerusalem said that the mosque will not be closed for worshippers at any time during the fasting month of Ramadan.

READ: Gaza protests following Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa