Khaberni - Today, Friday, the Israeli occupation forces imposed strict restrictions on the entry of worshipers coming from the West Bank into the occupied city of Jerusalem, to perform the first Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Despite the strict military restrictions, thousands of citizens have flocked since this morning through the Qalandiya military checkpoint, where the army enhanced its forces at the checkpoint, checked the identities of citizens, and prevented men under the age of 55 and women under the age of 50 who obtained "special permits" from entering Jerusalem.
According to eyewitnesses, the occupation forces turned away dozens of elderly at the Qalandiya and Bethlehem checkpoints who were on their way to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the pretext that they did not have the required permits enabling their entrance.
Sources indicated that the occupation detained 4 paramedics and obstructed the work of the press and medical crews at the Qalandiya checkpoint.
The occupation forces also imposed restrictions on the entry of worshipers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and scrutinized the identities of young men at the entrances to the Old City and the mosque gates, preventing a number of them from entering.
In turn, the Jerusalem Governorate stated that the occupation authorities prevented citizens from entering Jerusalem from the Qalandiya checkpoint under the pretext of reaching the maximum allowed number of entrants, and that there are thousands stranded at the checkpoint, with the occupation refusing to allow them to enter Jerusalem.
It also pointed out that the occupation authorities intensified their procedures around Jerusalem, by imposing entry restrictions and setting up barriers and tightening measures on those arriving in the city, in a step aimed at reducing the number of worshipers.
It also highlighted that these measures also represent an encroachment on the work of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem and a direct targeting of the role of the Waqf Department and its authority in managing the affairs of the mosque, as part of attempts to impose new facts affecting the status quo. This was during a meeting with Omar Rajoub, the Director of the Media Department in the Jerusalem Governorate, on Palestine Television.
