JERUSALEM: Hundreds of Muslim worshippers held Eid prayers at the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, with Israel closing access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites over the war with Iran.
“Today, Al-Aqsa has been taken from us. It’s a sad and painful Ramadan,” said Wajdi Mohammed Shweiki, a silver-haired Palestinian man in his 60s.
“It’s a catastrophic situation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for Palestinians in general and for all Muslims across the globe.”
Since Israel and the US started the war with Iran on Feb. 28, Israeli authorities have closed access to Jerusalem’s world-renowned holy sites over security concerns.
As Iranian missile barrages head toward Israel, the authorities have banned gatherings of more than 50 people nationwide to limit potential casualties. In a sign of the risks, police said this week that shrapnel fragments had fallen on the Old City.
