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180,000 Muslims pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa Mosque on first Friday of Ramadan
[IsraelTimes] Israel eases restrictions on travel from West Bank; police deploy hundreds of officers to ensure worshipers can mark the holy month at the Jerusalem flashpoint.The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf organization which administers the site estimated that there were 180,000 worshipers, some 50 percent higher than last year, when around 120,000 people attended the first Friday prayers. Israeli estimates varied between 135,000 and 180,000. Azzam al-Khatib, director general of Waqf, said the crowds reached the site "despite checkpoints and a large security presence." The prayers ended without any major incident, he told AFP Israel Police said that they had deployed hundreds of officers and Border Police "to ensure that tens of thousands of worshipers could reach the site and at the same time prevent any incidents throughout the day." Coordination between Paleostinian and Israeli authorities had improved at the checkpoint this year, the photographer said, making access to Jerusalem easier. This was largely due to Israel opening a new crossing at the site in February that is designed to reduce friction at one of the largest crossing points between the West Bank and Jerusalem. The IDF said some 75,000 people from the West Bank crossed into Israel for the prayers. Israeli restrictions on Paleostinians from the West Bank are eased during the month of Ramadan, which began on Monday. Posted by: trailing wife 2019-05-11 |
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