Iran Press/ West Asia: Israeli forces have prevented hundreds of Muslim worshippers seeking to perform Friday prayers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Wafa news agency.
Witnesses told the news agency that troops greatly intensified their military presence in the vicinity of the Qalandiya, Zeitoun, and Bethlehem checkpoints leading to the mosque, which is holy for Muslims.
The Israeli forces reportedly returned hundreds of worshippers from these checkpoints, claiming they did not have the necessary permits.
The agency added that hundreds of soldiers have been deployed around the mosque.
Israel restricted the entry of Palestinians and Muslim Israelis to the mosque in the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, where most Muslims seek to pray at the mosque.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the deployment of a large number of Israeli soldiers as well as physical barriers preventing access to Palestinians, saying this risked precipitating the situation into “a spiral of violence that cannot be controlled”.
In a statement, it added that while Netanyahu had promised not to implement additional changes from previous years, he had broken that pledge and breached international law by introducing additional restrictions.
“Preventing Palestinian residents from reaching Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray is a crime against humanity,” the statement said.204
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Hundreds prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque
