Amman, Oct. 2 (Petra)– Tens of thousands of worshipers performed
Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound
despite Israeli forces’ restrictions and measures imposed on those
seeking to reach the Old City and the mosque.

The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said that tens of thousands
of worshipers attended Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Palestinian media reported that Israeli forces prevented dozens of
young men from reaching the mosque after stopping them and checking
their identification cards. Israeli forces were also heavily deployed
around the Old City and the mosque.

Separately, the Jerusalem Governorate said that 11,409 settlers had
stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Jewish holiday season, from Rosh
Hashanah until the end of the incursions on Thursday.

It said the period had witnessed a clear escalation in the frequency
of settler incursions, religious rituals and accompanying Israeli
measures inside and around Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The incursions were accompanied by increasingly public and extensive
religious rituals, with the participation of Israeli ministers,
rabbis, officials and political figures.

The Jerusalem Governorate said the developments at Al-Aqsa Mosque and
its surroundings constituted a serious escalation targeting the
mosque’s Islamic identity and its existing historical and legal
status.

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot continues today, Friday, October 2, and
will be followed on Saturday, October 3, by the Jewish holiday known
as Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah).

//Petra// MF