Occupied Jerusalem: A total of 100,000 Muslim worshipers have performed the first Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, marking its reopening after a 40-day closure.
A statement from the Jerusalem Waqf, which administers the mosque compound, said the worshipers from different age groups streamed into holy site amid heavy Israeli occupation measures. These included restricted access at checkpoints at the gates of the Old City and the detention of some young people.
The Israeli occupation authorities imposed a complete closure of the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, for much of the fasting month of Ramadan and the Eid Al Fitr festival, citing what they called the security concerns amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The move triggered widespread condemnation from Arab and Muslim officials as well as regional and international bodies.
