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Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - JERUSALEM — Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem was reopened to Muslim worshippers Thursday following a 40-day closure imposed by Israel amid joint US-Israeli military actions against Iran.
Video verified by Al Jazeera showed Palestinians streaming through its gates early on Thursday morning.
Access had been completely prohibited, or restricted to a few dozen faithful at Christian, Jewish and Muslim sites following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28. Israel often imposes restrictions, especially on Palestinian worshippers.
The Islamic Waqf Department in occupied Jerusalem confirmed that the doors of Al-Aqsa would be reopened to all worshippers from dawn. The Jordanian-affiliated religious authority responsible for managing the mosque did not provide further details.
Video from earlier showed volunteers and caretakers in courtyards and prayer areas preparing to receive worshippers and holding religious rites.
Israeli authorities announced the opening of the mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday evening.
Israeli police attributed the opening of holy sites to what it called “updated instructions from the Israeli Home Front Command”.
The statement noted intensive security reinforcements, including hundreds of police officers and border guards in the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem and roads leading to the holy sites, aimed at “securing visitors”.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the compound on April 6 while it remained closed.
According to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground, the mosque, located in the Old City, was reopened at dawn, allowing hundreds of Palestinian Muslims to enter the compound.
As the gates were opened with the morning call to prayer, large numbers of worshippers flocked to the site, with many seen breaking into tears and performing prostrations of gratitude in the mosque’s courtyards.
Around 3,000 worshippers lined up for the dawn prayer, marking the first congregational worship at the site since its closure.
Israel had completely shut 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 prevented 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.
Israeli authorities had also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest sites in Jerusalem, during the same period. — Agencies
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