Despite zionist Israeli crackdowns, quarter of a million Muslims pray at Aqsa

An estimated 250,000 Muslims from all over Palestine attended the third Friday of the holy fast month of Ramadan prayer at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Worshippers filled the mosques and the open air plaza of the Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and territories occupied in 1948 started arriving in Occupied Jerusalem since the early morning hours, heading toward Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the heavy restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the entry of Palestinians into the site.

Palestinians from the besieged Gaza Strip have, meanwhile, been banned from reaching the site.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians anxious to attend the Ramadan prayer in Occupied Jerusalem filled the Israeli military checkpoints around Jerusalem as they were intensively searched by soldiers before they were allowed to pass through on their way to the holy city.

A set of military checkpoints was pitched by the occupation forces around the holy city to block Palestinians’ free movement inside and out.

Palestinian men aged below 40 have officially been banned by the occupation authorities from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque.