Khaberni - The Israeli occupation authorities continued, on Sunday, and for the 16th consecutive day, to close the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and with the coming of the night of 27 Ramadan, turned its surroundings into a military barracks.
The Palestinian Governorate of Jerusalem said in a statement that the occupation forces turned the Old City of Jerusalem into a military barracks and deployed hundreds of soldiers in its vicinity.
It added that hundreds of Jerusalemites performed the Isha and Tarawih prayers in the area of Bab al-Sahira and Bab al-Amud and in the streets with the continued closure of the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque "amid a siege by the Israeli forces."
The Israeli reinforcements coincided with calls on social media to break the siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque and to commemorate the Night of Destiny within its precincts or wherever access was possible.
Since the beginning of the American-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28th, the occupation authorities have closed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of declaring a state of emergency and banning gatherings.
Palestinians commemorate the 27th night of Ramadan (the Night of Destiny) by staying in mosques, praying, supplicating, and reading the Quran until dawn, which was observed by about 180,000 people at Al-Aqsa Mosque last year.
According to the Governorate of Jerusalem, dozens of Jerusalemites performed the Isha and Tarawih prayers at the perimeter of Bab al-Sahira on the northern side of the Old City of Jerusalem, amid military reinforcements and a heavy deployment of the occupation forces.
Meanwhile, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in a statement that the occupation forces set up barriers and stopped those coming to the Old City and prevented the entry of non-residents of Jerusalem.
The center noted that the markets of the Old City are witnessing a collapse, appearing almost empty, and most of its shops closed amid Israeli restrictions, in a season that merchants eagerly await each year.
The Arab League strongly condemned in a statement "the continued closure of the doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the prevention of prayers and religious ceremonies there, especially during the blessed month of Ramadan and the last ten nights of it."
The League considered this provocative measure "a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and of the existing legal and historical status of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Al-Sharif, an unprecedented provocation to the feelings of two billion Muslims around the world, and an undermining of the freedom of worship and unrestricted access to places of worship."
It emphasized that "Israel, the occupying power, has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory of 1967, including the occupied city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites."
It called on the international community, including the Security Council, to take responsibility and adopt an international stance "strict enough to oblige Israel, as the occupying power, to stop its violations and practices, and to lift all restrictions imposed on the Palestinians' access to the city of Jerusalem and respect the freedom of worship."
