Amman, Sept. 11 (Petra)– Tens of thousands of worshippers performed
Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif despite
stringent Israeli occupation measures imposed on those heading to
Jerusalem.

The Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem said tens of thousands of
worshippers performed Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to
Palestinian media reports.

Israeli occupation forces tightened restrictions on worshippers
across Jerusalem in conjunction with the so-called Jewish New Year.
They deployed heavily and erected metal barricades in the city’s
streets, around the Old City and in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Separately, dozens of settlers today desecrated the Bab al-Rahma
Cemetery adjacent to the eastern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, performing
Talmudic rituals and blowing the shofar near Islamic graves under the
protection of Israeli police, on the eve of the so-called Jewish New
Year.

The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA), citing the
Jerusalem Governorate, reported that the rituals were performed
outside the cemetery for the third consecutive week, amid growing
demands by groups affiliated with the alleged Temple organizations to
conduct their religious rituals inside Al-Aqsa Mosque during Jewish
holidays.

The governorate said that, while settlers have been prevented from
conducting some of these rituals inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, they have
increasingly sought to impose them around the mosque, at its gates
and in areas adjacent to its walls, particularly Bab al-Rahma
Cemetery.

It said the move was aimed at creating a new reality on the ground
and expanding manifestations of Judaization from inside the mosque to
its surrounding areas, while targeting its Islamic identity and the
status of the holy sites and landmarks around it.

The governorate warned against exploiting the Jewish holiday season
to expand incursions, impose new religious rituals, extend the hours
and areas in which intruders are allowed to remain, restrict
worshippers and Waqf employees, and undermine the established
historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

//Petra// MF