United News of Bangladesh

Israeli authorities have imposed tight restrictions on Palestinian access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, allowing only a limited number of worshippers from the occupied West Bank to enter. Israel said a maximum of 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank would be permitted to attend prayers on Friday, far fewer than the hundreds of thousands who traditionally gather at the site during Ramadan in previous years. Entry is being allowed only with special permits. According to the restrictions, only children under 12, men over the age of 55 and women aged 50 and above are eligible to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank for the prayers. From early morning, hundreds of Palestinians queued at the Qalandiya checkpoint, hoping to reach the holy site. Israeli media reported that by mid-morning only about 2,000 people had managed to cross, amid heightened Israeli military alert at checkpoints separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Palestinian officials later said Israeli authorities claimed the daily quota for West Bank worshippers had already been filled, effectively barring further entry to the mosque compound. Palestinian journalists and officials said the restrictions were unprecedented in scale. In previous years, up to 250,000 worshippers have attended Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, including Palestinians from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel. Observers say the measures are deepening the separation between occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, disrupting long-standing religious and social traditions linked to Ramadan prayers and communal gatherings at Al-Aqsa. The restrictions come amid rising violence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Palestinian authorities, human rights groups and the United Nations have reported an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers, often under the protection of Israeli forces, involving shootings, home burnings and land seizures. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since 2023, while over 10,000 have been forcibly displaced. Earlier this week, Israel approved a plan that Palestinian officials and international critics describe as a de facto annexation of large areas of the occupied West Bank by declaring them Israeli “state property”. The move has drawn condemnation from more than 80 UN member states, who say it undermines Palestinians’ right to self-determination and further erodes prospects for a future Palestinian state.   With inputs from ALJAZEERA