A member of the Israeli security forces stands guard at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, while tension arises during clashes in Jerusalem's Old City, April 9, 2023 - REUTERS
On Friday, Israeli security personnel prevented young Palestinians from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque, forcing them to pray in the Old City of Jerusalem before allowing thousands of older worshipers to enter under strict restrictions that remained in place.
At the sacred site, 5,000 worshippers offered Friday prayers, according to the Jerusalem Islamic Endowments Department, the overseeing authority. That contrasts with an average of roughly 50,000 before the strikes on Israel on October 7 by Hamas militants.
Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam.
Israel captured the area in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it with the rest of East Jerusalem and adjoining parts of the West Bank in a move not recognized internationally.
