Palestinians persist to perform third Friday prayer of Ramadan at al-Aqsa

Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are doing all they can to be able to perform the third Friday Prayer of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has banned Palestinian men between the ages of 12 and 40 from entering Jerusalem.

Many climbed ladders to cross the separation wall to reach Jerusalem. There are various surveillance points stationed across the concrete separation wall, which was constructed in 2003 between the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The wall is five meters tall.

Israel does not allow Palestinians from the West Bank to pass to Jerusalem except with special permission on regular days, and those living in Gaza under the blockade have no freedom to travel to Jerusalem or any other place.

Some West Bank residents line up in long queues to pass through the control points with special permission, while others try to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque by crossing the separation wall.

Women and men over the age of 40 wait in long queues at checkpoints to enter Jerusalem. There has been tension at the Kalendiya checkpoint between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers since the entry of men under the age of 40 has been barred.

“They are preventing us from performing prayers. They want us to obtain special permission documents, yet they reject our applications for ‘security reasons.’ Despite this, our attachment to this city [Jerusalem] will continue,” said Palestinian Iyad Kemil (36).