LONDON(RAHNUMA): About 3,000 Palestinian worshippers performed prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem for the first time in 40 days, after it was closed by Israeli authorities.
Since Feb. 28, amid the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, authorities have closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Western Wall, the most revered site to Jews, to mass gatherings.
Thousands of worshippers were able to perform the dawn prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, despite strict Israeli measures that included ID checks and preventing some young men from entering the site, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
Police detained Munta Amara, an activist who regularly prays at the mosque, at one of the Al-Aqsa gates, just hours after detaining another young man inside the mosque’s courtyard, the Wafa news agency reported.
On Wednesday, a ceasefire agreement among the US, Israel and Iran led to a two-week halt in military actions, bringing relative calm to the region. However, Lebanon was excluded from this agreement and has experienced the heaviest airstrikes since March, as the Israeli military targets Iran-backed Hezbollah positions, killing at least 110 people.
