Amman: Thousands of Palestinians performed Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque despite the Israeli occupation authorities’ tight military controls on entry to the area.

Merely thirty thousand persons, according to the Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem, performed Friday prayer within Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), the occupation forces established checkpoints near the Old City and at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque. These checkpoints verified the identities of individuals arriving to pray, hindered several individuals from entering the mosque to offer prayers, and impeded the work of press crews at Lions’ Gate.

Thousands of residents of the West Bank governorates are unable to travel to Jerusalem to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque because they need special permission to pass through the military checkpoints that encircle the Holy City. This is due to the occupation authority.

Source: Jordan News Agency