A limited number of older Palestinians were allowed into Jerusalem on the first Friday of Ramazan in a wary climate stirred by a standoff over the Gaza ceasefire and an extended Israeli military campaign in the West Bank.
The second Ramazan since the start of the conflict in Gaza came during a fragile truce that hangs in the balance, with Israel and the Palestinian militant movement Hamas far apart on whether to continue talks that could lead to an end to the conflict.
There was a heavy deployment of police in Jerusalem’s walled Old City but no reports of serious trouble.
“The Israel police are spread out across Jerusalem and across Israel in order to allow the safe environment for the arrival of all these worshippers coming here,” police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne said.
For Hussein al-Far, from the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, it was the first time in four or five years he had been able to travel to the al-Aqsa mosque. “It’s a great feeling,” he said as he passed through the Damascus Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City.
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