Occupation Prevents Eid Prayer at "Al-Aqsa"; Worshippers Perform It in the Surroundings

SadaNews - Hundreds of worshippers performed the Eid al-Fitr prayer this morning, Friday, in the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, after Israeli occupation forces prevented them from reaching the mosque's courtyards, amid the continued closure for the twenty-first consecutive day.

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the worshippers arrived at the nearest points they could reach, especially in the areas of Bab al-Amud and Bab al-Sahira, and the Takbeer of Eid rose despite the strict measures imposed by the occupation.

This coincided with repeated assaults by the occupation forces, which fired sound bombs and toxic tear gas at the worshippers at Bab al-Sahira, preventing them from advancing towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They also arrested a young man from Salah al-Din street as part of the tight restrictions on the Palestinian citizens and their religious practices.

The governorate stated: Despite the repression, the worshippers insisted on performing the Eid prayer in the streets, in a scene that reflected their commitment to their right to worship inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They gathered from the early morning hours and chanted the Takbeers of Eid, defying the imposed restrictions amid an unprecedented closure that deprived them of performing prayers inside the mosque.

In this context, the Jerusalem Governorate considered that the continued closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prevention of the Eid prayer in its courtyards represents a serious and unprecedented escalation and a blatant violation of the freedom of worship. It emphasized that these measures aim to impose new Judaization realities and isolate the mosque from its Palestinian and Islamic surroundings, calling on the international community for urgent intervention to stop these violations and ensure freedom of worship in the holy city.