Gazans dream of praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Israel has prevented Gazans from traveling to Jerusalem since 2000, but their strong connection with the Holy City is inspiring new campaigns for change.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Um Aref Yusef last saw Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1999, never to be allowed to visit again as a result of the complicated travel restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Yusef, 72, looked longingly at a picture of the gilded Dome of the Rock, hanging on a wall in her house in the Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City. “I can still smell the aroma of its old walls. I can never forget the thrill of praying in its midst. The time I spent in that place is a dream that I hope will repeat itself before death takes me away,” she told Al-Monitor.
Israel no longer allows Gaza residents to travel to Jerusalem and hasn't since the second Palestinian intifada in 2000. It also limited passage through the Erez border crossing, which it controls, to a small special category of travelers such as foreigners, senior businessmen and the sick.
Yusef’s constant talk about her last visit to Al-Aqsa has inspired ambition in her grandchildren, who grew up under the Israeli ban against Gazans traveling to Jerusalem. Her granddaughter Samah, 19, told Al-Monitor that she has not seen Jerusalem except on television and through her grandmother’s stories.
