Israel tightened security around East Jerusalem as thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank were allowed to pray for Ramadan at al-Aqsa mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan.
Witnesses said that several thousands Israeli police fanned out across East Jerusalem, while thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were allowed to travel into the holy city to listen to the sermon.
The policemen restricted access only to Palestinian men over age of 45 and women over 35 carrying permits, who normally banned from entering East Jerusalem without Israeli permission, the witnesses said.
Media reports quoted Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Islamic trust Waqf, as saying that some 50,000 Palestinians attended the prayers at the ultra-sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the first Friday of Ramadan.
This Friday of the holy month of Ramadan coincides with the Jewish New Year holiday, raising concerns about possible tension at Jerusalem's holy sites.
For the security reason, while allowing thousands of Palestinians to enter East Jerusalem to pray for Ramadan, Israeli police and soldiers also turned away thousands of others who were trying to reach the Al-Aqsa mosque at checkpoints outside the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem.
Al-Aqsa compound, which houses both the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is the third holiest for Muslims and the holiest for Jews who revere it as the site of their ancient temple.
It is also the place where the second Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000 after a controversial visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon who became the prime minister later.
Source: Xinhua
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