ISTANBUL: Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem was reopened to Muslim worshippers on Thursday (April 9) after a 40-day closure imposed by Israel amid joint US-Israeli military actions against Iran.
According to Anadolu Ajansi (AA), the mosque, located in the Old City, was reopened at dawn, allowing hundreds of Palestinian Muslims to enter the Al-Haram al-Sharif compound.
As the gates opened with the morning call to prayer, large numbers of worshippers flocked to the site, many breaking down in tears and performing prostrations of gratitude in the mosque’s courtyards.
Hundreds of Muslims lined up for the dawn prayer, marking the first congregational worship at the site since its closure.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the compound on April 6 while it remained closed.
Israel had fully closed access to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Feb 28, coinciding with its attacks on Iran, allowing only mosque staff and officials from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf to pray on site, while other Palestinians were forced to worship in smaller mosques across the city.
Authorities also barred Eid al-Fitr prayers from being held at Al-Aqsa this year, marking the first such restriction since Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.
During the same period, Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest sites in Jerusalem.
The Israeli government had extended a state of emergency until mid-April but did not clarify whether the mosque would remain closed for the entire duration. – Bernama
