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.



Iraqi Kurdistan: Assailant of Assyrian Celebration Attack Affiliated with ISIS

 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 
 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 
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Iraqi Kurdistan: Assailant of Assyrian Celebration Attack Affiliated with ISIS

 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 
 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 

Authorities in Duhok, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, announced on Wednesday that the attack carried out by a Syrian national during a Christian celebration in the city was an “act of terrorism.”

On Tuesday, the attacker infiltrated a gathering of Syriac Christians celebrating the Akitu festival in central Duhok. He then pulled out an axe and attacked a young man, a 70-year-old woman, and a security officer.

Videos circulating on local media platforms showed a group of people apprehending the attacker, who was seen making hand gestures and shouting “Islamic State.” Shamon Shlimon, the deputy governor of Duhok, stated that initial investigations revealed the attacker was a Syrian national and that given the slogans he shouted, “it is clear that the attack was an act of terrorism.”

Later, security sources confirmed that the assailant admitted to police that he belonged to a terrorist organization.

The Kurdistan Regional Security Council later announced that the attacker was affiliated with an ISIS-linked group. In a press statement, the council said: “While the people of Duhok were celebrating Akitu, an individual holding extremist ISIS ideologies attacked citizens in the market with a sharp weapon.”

The Kurdistan Regional Presidency condemned the “criminal attack,” affirming that it would not tolerate any actions that undermine the culture of coexistence, acceptance, and tolerance.

In a statement on Wednesday, the presidency said it was “closely following” the investigation into the “criminal attack” in Duhok, assuring that the perpetrator will face legal consequences.

This is the first attack of its kind in Duhok. Chaldeans and Syriacs celebrate Babylonian-Assyrian New Year (Akitu) every April 1. During the recent attack, more than 8,000 people were present, half of whom were from outside the Kurdistan region, according to local reports.

The Akitu festival features celebrations, cultural and artistic events, and recreational activities, including traditional dances.