Palestinians attend prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque amid Israeli virus restrictions
Israeli officials controlling access to the mosque had limited the number of Palestinians able to worship on Friday, citing coronavirus concerns.
The coronavirus has limited Ramadan prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second year in a row, with Israeli-enforced restrictions preventing thousands of Palestinians from worshipping at the holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Citing the pandemic’s “high morbidity rates” in the Palestinian territories, Israel gave permits to 10,000 fully vaccinated Palestinians — a fraction of the hundreds of thousands living in the West Bank and Israel who usually attend Friday prayers during the Islamic holy month.
"The measures are being taken to allow freedom of worship and religion on one hand, and on the other hand, prevent to the extent possible the spread of COVID-19 in the region,” said the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a branch of Israel’s Defense Ministry.
“An additional situation assessment will be carried out to examine the approved outline” after Friday, COGAT added.
