LONDON(RAHNUMA): Al-Aqsa Mosque in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem has been closed for the past 30 days, following a joint military campaign launched by Israel and the US targeting the Iranian regime on Feb. 28.
Israel declared a state of emergency nationwide and closed all holy sites in Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall, the most revered site for Jewish worship.
However, the Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, describing it as unprecedented since the occupation in June 1967.
Extremist settler groups are calling for access to the shuttered Al-Aqsa Mosque during Passover, asking for “sacrificial rituals” to be held inside from April 2 to 9, according to the Wafa news agency.
Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf administers the Al-Aqsa Mosque and holds the legal authority to manage the compound and control access.
On March 20, hundreds of Palestinians attempted to enter the Old City to perform the Eid Al-Fitr prayer, marking the end of Ramadan, but Israeli forces dispersed them.
On Sunday, Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of the Catholic Easter.
