40,000 Muslims perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM (AA) – Thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Arab villages inside Israel performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. <br> </p> <p>Israeli authorities stepped up security in and around the flashpoint religious site, deploying thousands of police and setting up roadblocks near the entrances of Jerusalem's Old City. <br> </p> <p>Al-Aqsa Mosque Director Sheikh Omar Kiswani told Anadolu Agency that, despite the additional security measures, an estimated 40,000 Palestinians had performed weekly prayers at the site on Friday.</p> <p>“Since morning, thousands of people have poured into the mosque compound,” he said. <br> </p> <p>Tension has mounted in Jerusalem since last month, when Israeli police briefly sealed the Al-Aqsa compound’s Al-Rahma Gate, located adjacent to the eastern wall of the Old City, sparking angry Palestinian demonstrations. <br> </p> <p>In the weeks since, the Israeli authorities have banned scores of Palestinians — including religious officials — from entering the Al-Aqsa, which for Muslims represents the world’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. <br> </p> <p>Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.