Large Crowds for Ramadan Prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa

Palestinians attending the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s old city, 24 March 2023. (EPA)
Palestinians attending the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s old city, 24 March 2023. (EPA)
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Large Crowds for Ramadan Prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa

Palestinians attending the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s old city, 24 March 2023. (EPA)
Palestinians attending the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s old city, 24 March 2023. (EPA)

Muslim worshippers packed Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa compound for noon prayers on the fourth Friday of the holy month of Ramadan under heightened Israeli police presence.
The prayers ended peacefully amid a year-long escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Israeli police raids at the sacred compound last week triggered rocket attacks from Gaza, southern Lebanon and Syria that drew Israeli air and artillery strikes, Reuters said.

Following the cross-border flare-up, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that, as in previous years, visits by non-Muslims to the site, known to Jews as Temple Mount, will be halted until the end of Ramadan, expected around April 20, depending on the moon.

Police said more than 2,000 officers operated in Jerusalem on Friday "to maintain security and order, and to ensure the freedom of worship for all denominations and religions".

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted a photo of him surrounded by Border Police officers as they conducted a security assessment near the compound in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed following a 1967 Middle East war in a move not recognized internationally.

There were differing estimates of the number of worshippers, with the Israeli police putting the number at 130,000, while the Waqf, the Jordanian-appointed Islamic organization that manages the complex, placed the number at 250,000.

"There is no room for compromise on Al-Aqsa or space for negotiations around it and we will not give up one iota of its land," former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Ekrima Sabri said at the Friday sermon, after expressing appreciation for the strong turnout of Muslim worshippers throughout the holy month.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians lined up at military checkpoints in the early morning hours to cross from the Israeli-occupied West Bank into Jerusalem.

Israel claims Jerusalem, including the walled Old City in the east with all its sacred sites, as its eternal and undivided capital. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state in the West Bank and Gaza.

As Muslims flocked to Al-Aqsa, Orthodox Christians held Good Friday processions in the Old City's narrow alleyways and Jewish worshippers prayed at the Western Wall.

Friday also marked the annual "Quds (Jerusalem) Day", when Iran holds rallies in support of Palestinians. Iran backs Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups fighting Israel, which Tehran does not recognize.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged in recent months, with frequent military West Bank raids and escalating settler violence amid a spate of Palestinian street attacks.

More than 90 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since January.



Palestinian Prime Minister Says Palestinian Authority Should Run Gaza in Future

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)
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Palestinian Prime Minister Says Palestinian Authority Should Run Gaza in Future

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said it “will not be acceptable” for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future.

Mustafa made the comments on Wednesday as he visited Norway, one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The US has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood, which the Israeli government opposes.

“While we’re waiting for the ceasefire, it’s important to stress that it will not be acceptable for any entity to govern Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the State of Palestine," Mustafa said.

He added that “any attempt to consolidate the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or creating transitional entities, will be rejected.”

Mustafa stressed that “we should not leave Gaza to vacuum ... We are the government of Palestine, ready to hold our responsibilities in the Gaza Strip as we did before.”