Jerusalem Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound to Close over Virus

A Palestinian man leaves after performing the Friday prayer in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on August 21, 2020. (AFP)
A Palestinian man leaves after performing the Friday prayer in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on August 21, 2020. (AFP)
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Jerusalem Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound to Close over Virus

A Palestinian man leaves after performing the Friday prayer in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on August 21, 2020. (AFP)
A Palestinian man leaves after performing the Friday prayer in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on August 21, 2020. (AFP)

Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, will be closed from Friday following a spike in coronavirus cases, the authority that administers the city's Muslim holy places announced.

With cases of the virus on the rise in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Waqf authority held an emergency meeting with health officials.

Waqf members decided to "suspend the entry of worshippers starting from Friday afternoon (September 18) for a period of three weeks".

"We hope that citizens will understand this procedure, in order to preserve their health and wellbeing," Waqf member Hatem Abdel Qader told AFP.

The closure coincides with a three-week lockdown to be imposed by Israel, which controls the entrances of the compound.

The call to prayer will continue to ring out across Jerusalem's Old City, Qader said, while Waqf employees will be allowed to pray at the site.

Jordan is the custodian of the compound, known by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Holy Sanctuary, and as the Temple Mount by Jews.

It is only the second time that the Waqf has decided to close the compound since Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Israel has previously blocked access to the flashpoint site, which is a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

The Waqf shut the compound at the onset of the pandemic in March, when sweeping closures upended religious life in a way not seen for centuries.

Israeli authorities have reported nearly 167,000 coronavirus cases, with 1,147 deaths.

In the occupied West Bank, some 214 people have died from the virus and more than 30,200 cases have been registered by Palestinian authorities.



Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)

Egypt is continuing to strengthen its cooperation with African nations to confront the pressing challenges of water and food security.

“Water issues are a shared challenge that grows more severe due to climate change and resource scarcity, especially given Egypt’s near-total dependence on Nile water,” Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam said, according to an official statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister during a celebration at the Djibouti Embassy in Cairo marking Djibouti’s 48th independence anniversary, Sewilam emphasized that cross-border cooperation, rooted in principles of international law, is the optimal path to ensure sustainable water resources.

Egypt frequently raises the issue of water security, particularly amid the ongoing crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia has built on the main tributary of the Nile since 2011 to generate electricity. Egypt and Sudan fear it will impact their water shares.

Ambassador Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, stressed that water security is closely linked to river management and dam operations. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt consistently underscores the importance of respecting international laws and agreements on managing water resources and criticized Ethiopia’s unilateral actions to impose a de facto situation regarding the dam.

Halima added that achieving water security requires cooperation among states in managing water resources and constructing dams, noting that Egypt has valuable experience African nations can benefit from.

Egypt faces a water deficit estimated at 30 billion cubic meters annually. Its share of Nile water amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters per year, while consumption exceeds 85 billion cubic meters. The shortfall is covered by groundwater extraction, seawater desalination projects, and recycling agricultural drainage water, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

On Friday, Sewilam highlighted the longstanding ties between Egypt and Djibouti as an example of cooperation amid complex regional and global challenges requiring greater unity and shared vision. He noted that the regional and international context demands an understanding of the magnitude of challenges, ranging from security and peace to sustainable development and socio-economic stability, especially in the Arab and African regions.

Egypt is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate in fields such as integrated water resources management, desalination technologies, groundwater recharge, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and joint research.

In parallel, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to working with African countries to develop more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural value chains. Speaking during FAO meetings in Rome, he said that strengthening these chains is central to food security, economic growth, and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Farouk also discussed promoting Egyptian investment in Africa to boost agricultural development and food security across the continent.