Around 140,000 worshippers performed Eid al-Adha prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday morning despite heavy Israeli military deployment and multiple arrests around the mosque compound.
The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem estimated that approximately 140,000 Palestinians attended Eid prayers at Al Aqsa during the morning hours.
This marks the first Eid in which Palestinians were able to perform Eid prayers inside Al Aqsa following the war on Iran, after worshippers were prevented from holding Eid al Fitr prayers earlier this year.
At the time, the mosque was closed following the outbreak of the Israeli American war against the Islamic Republic on 28 February, forcing worshippers to pray in surrounding streets and open areas leading to the mosque compound.
Heavy Israeli Presence Around Al Aqsa
The surroundings of Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s Old City witnessed a large deployment of Israeli occupation forces as worshippers entered the mosque through Bab al Asbat to perform Eid prayers.
Calls had been issued urging Palestinians in Al Quds and the occupied interior to travel to Al Aqsa, maintain a presence inside the mosque, and revive Eid prayers within its courtyards as an affirmation of the mosque’s Islamic identity and Palestinian presence in the face of ongoing Judaization efforts and escalating targeting.
Arrests and Assaults Inside the Mosque Compound
Israeli occupation forces arrested a young woman after assaulting her and forcibly removing her hijab near Bab Hutta, one of the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque.
Occupation forces also arrested journalist Saif al Qawasmi from inside Al Aqsa before handing him a summons for interrogation by Israeli intelligence.
He was later issued a one week ban from entering the mosque compound and ordered to appear before Israeli intelligence authorities following his detention inside the courtyards of Al Aqsa.
Israeli forces additionally arrested Islamic Waqf employee Firas al Dibs from inside the mosque.
Raids Across the West Bank
Across the occupied West Bank, Palestinians performed Eid al Adha prayers in mosques and public squares, while Eid sermons focused heavily on the suffering endured by the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza.
On the ground, several areas across the West Bank witnessed Israeli military raids and home invasions, alongside the arrest of multiple Palestinians in different locations.
In Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, a 13 year old child was injured on Tuesday evening after being shot with rubber coated metal bullets during an Israeli military raid on the town of Bani Naim east of the city.
Palestinian Red Crescent crews transferred the injured child to hospital for treatment.
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