More than 100,000 Muslims gather for Friday prayers in Jerusalem

Under tight security, more than 100,000 Muslims gathered for afternoon prayers on the Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem on Friday.

The Jordanian Wakf authority responsible for the facility estimated the number at about 250,000 believers. Police in Jerusalem spoke of some 130,000. It could be the last Friday of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which began about three weeks ago and is expected to end next Thursday.

According to Wakf, an estimated 90,000 Palestinians came from the Israeli-occupied West Bank. They were among those who met the entry requirements imposed by Israel. These include women of all ages and men over the age of 55.

A police spokesman in Jerusalem said more than 2,000 officers were on duty to “ensure the safety of the faithful”. Eight people were arrested after midday prayers. They are suspected of waving flags of terrorist groups. There were no other major incidents, it was said in the afternoon. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam.

After violent clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians on the Temple Mount over the past week, the security situation in the region had deteriorated again. Rockets were fired at Israel on the borders of the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria. The country responded with counterattacks. Palestinians also carried out several deadly attacks on civilians. The past few days have been relatively quiet.

As a de-escalation measure, Jews were not allowed to visit the Temple Mount during the last ten days of Ramadan. This was also the case in previous years. Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision as “indulging in terrorism”. The complex is also considered sacred by Jews because there used to be two Jewish temples.

(yam/sda/dpa)