Several people injured in Al-Aqsa skirmishes on last Friday of Ramadan

Following weeks of violence at the religious site, new clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound injured 42 persons on the last Friday of Ramadan. Twenty-two persons were admitted to hospitals.

On Friday, there were around 160,000 worshippers in the mosque compound. The incidents occurred as tightened restrictions at Israeli military checkpoints leading to Jerusalem prevented hundreds of worshipers from visiting the mosque, according to Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani, director of Al-Aqsa Mosque. “We expected a total of 220,000 worshippers,” he stated.

Hundreds of Muslims who were unable to access Al-Aqsa prayed in front of Israeli military checkpoints at Jerusalem’s entrances, he added.

The large number of worshippers who worshipped at Al-Aqsa during the previous three Fridays and Laylat Al-Qadr “sends a clear message that Al-Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims only, and it does not allow division and partnership for control with non-Muslims,” according to Al-Kiswani.

Last Thursday, about 4,625 Jews visited the Al-Aqsa compound to do Talmudic prayer under police protection.

“The arrival — and (determination) — of the massive number of worshippers, despite the checkpoints and restrictions, confirm that the Palestinian people are ready to protect and defend Al-Aqsa Mosque against all the dangers facing it, no matter how great they are,” Al-Kiswani added.

Hundreds of Muslims who couldn’t go to Al-Aqsa prayed in front of Israeli military checkpoints at Jerusalem’s entrances, he added.

According to Al-Kiswani, the vast number of worshippers who visited Al-Aqsa during the previous three Fridays and Laylat Al-Qadr “sends a clear message that Al-Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims only, and it does not accept division and partnership for control with non-Muslims.”

On Thursday, around 4,625 Jews went to the mosque compound to do Talmudic prayer under police protection.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s attempts to “impose a temporal division on the existing reality” in Al-Aqsa, as well as restrictions that prevented some worshippers from reaching the mosque, and slammed Israeli officials’ claims that they want to keep the status quo or are dealing with the situation “cautiously.”

The Israeli security forces warned that the situation will be “extremely serious” until the end of May, when the provocative flag marches marking the anniversary of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem will cease, according to the Hebrew calendar.

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