Israel continues to bar Muslims from Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque for 4th straight week

JERUSALEM

Israeli authorities continue to bar Muslims from Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest mosque in Islam, for the fourth consecutive week, keeping the site closed since late February under emergency measures linked to the war with Iran.

Israeli police kept the mosque's gates closed and deployed forces across Jerusalem's Old City to prevent worshippers from entering the compound.

Authorities closed the site after the war began, citing Home Front Command directives banning large gatherings.

Since then, prayers at the mosque have been restricted to only guards and members of the Islamic Waqf, which oversees the site.

Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s most important holy sites.

Witnesses told Anadolu that police prevented Palestinians from praying in the streets near the Old City walls, including Salah al-Din Street.

Calls had circulated in Jerusalem urging worshippers to pray as close as possible to Al-Aqsa due to its continued closure. Palestinians have instead been praying in smaller mosques across the city.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli government extended the state of emergency until mid-April, though it remains unclear whether the mosque will remain closed until then.

Israel closed Al-Aqsa after the start of its war with Iran on Feb. 28, citing security concerns, while Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and what it describes as US interests in the region.

Authorities also prevented Eid al-Fitr prayers at the site this year for the first time since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.

Despite condemnations from Arab and Muslim countries, Israeli authorities have refused to reopen the mosque. Worshippers in East Jerusalem said the closure is unjustified and politically motivated.

*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul