170,000 Attend Prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque on the First Friday of Ramadan

[ 28/08/2009 - 03:57 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

Despite the Israeli occupation forces restrictions more than 170,000 Palestinian worshipers managed to make it to the Aqsa Mosque and attend the prayers on the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A statement by the Aqsa Foundation for Heritage and Endowment, issued on Friday afternoon, said that tens of thousands of worshippers attended the dawn prayers at the Aqsa Mosque, then droves of worshippers started arriving at the mosque. They were mostly Palestinians living in occupied Jerusalem and in 1948 occupied Palestine with a modest number of Palestinians from the West Bank because West Bank Palestinians need passes to enter occupied Jerusalem.

The foundation estimated the number of worshipers who attended the Friday prayers to be in excess of 170 thousand adding that the Bayareq Foundation runs about 130 coaches a day from various Palestinian towns and villages within the green line to the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Shaikh Yousuf Abu Sunainah, Imam of the Aqsa Mosque, praised those who despite the obstacles created by the occupation made it to the Aqsa Mosque and called for unity of Palestinians and Muslims.

IOF troops arrest five Palestinian Muslim worshipers

[ 28/08/2009 - 03:28 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

Israeli occupation forces arrested five Palestinian Muslim worshipers after the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan in the Aqsa Mosque, according to Yediot Ahranot.

The paper reported that one of those arrested was a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who has entered Jerusalem "illegally" and another from Rahat in southern "Israel" as he tried to assault an IOF soldier.

Thousands of Israeli occupation troops have been deployed in and around Jerusalem to control entry of Palestinian worshipers to the Aqsa Mosque.

Only men over the age of 50 and women over the age 40 are allowed to proceed to the Aqsa Mosque to perform their prayers.

Farhan: The holy places in Jerusalem passing through crucial stage

 [ 27/08/2009 - 11:58 AM ]

AMMAN, (PIC)--

Dr. Is'haq Farhan, the secretary-general of the Jordanian Islamic action front party, called on the Arab and Muslim worlds to shoulder their responsibilities towards the occupied city of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, warning that the holy places are passing through a crucial stage and the Zionist threats are aggravating.

In a press statement, Dr. Farhan said that the Zionist threats to the holy places in occupied Jerusalem are serious and not a jest, noting that the presence of an extremist right-wing Zionist government elected by a racist society increases the risks.

He stressed that the Israeli attacks and violations against the Aqsa Mosque had escalated steadily since the burning of the Aqsa Mosque, while the Arab and Muslim countries did not make steps to confront these escalations.

He added that keeping the door open to frivolous negotiations gives Israel the time to complete the scheme of imposing fait accompli.

Dr. Farhan also deplored the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah for hunting and arresting Palestinian resistance fighters and leaders, saying its security apparatuses do not serve the Palestinian cause, but they are assigned to protect Israel’s security.