NNA - Israeli occupation forces imposed strict restrictions on the entry of Palestinian Muslim worshipers coming from the West Bank to the occupied city of Jerusalem to perform the third Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Local sources reported a significant deployment of Israeli troops around the Qalandiya checkpoint to the north of Jerusalem, the Zeitoun checkpoint to the east, and Bethlehem to the south. Thousands of worshippers were turned back and denied access to the city under the pretext of not having the necessary permits.

The soldiers further checked citizens' IDs and prevented men under the age of 55 and women under the age of 50 who had obtained "special permits" from entering Jerusalem. Despite this, thousands of citizens have poured through the checkpoints since this morning in an attempt to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The sources added that the occupation forces closed the gates of the Qalandia military checkpoint and prevented anyone from entering for about half an hour before reopening them. They detained a journalist and interrogated him on the spot after obstructing the work of the press crews at the site.

The occupation authorities have already been imposing strict restrictions on entry of worshipers to the Old City of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque since the outbreak of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in early October 2023.--WAFA 

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