Jerusalem, March 20, 2026 (WAFA) – Hundreds of worshippers performed Eid al-Fitr prayers this morning in the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, after Israeli occupation forces prevented them from accessing the mosque’s courtyards, as it remains closed for the 21st consecutive day.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that worshippers arrived at the closest points they could reach, especially in the Damascus Gate and Herod’s Gate areas, and the Eid takbirs were raised despite the occupation’s strict measures .
This coincided with repeated attacks by the occupation forces, who fired sound bombs and toxic tear gas at worshippers at Bab al-Sahira, preventing them from advancing towards Al-Aqsa Mosque. They also arrested a young man from Salah al-Din Street, as part of the restrictions imposed on Palestinian citizens and preventing them from performing their religious rites .
The governorate said: Despite the repression, the worshippers insisted on performing the Eid prayer in the streets, in a scene that reflected their adherence to their right to worship inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, where they flocked since the early morning hours, and chanted the Eid takbirs, defying the restrictions imposed on them, in light of an unprecedented closure that deprived them of performing the prayer inside the mosque .
In this context, the Jerusalem Governorate considered the continued closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prevention of Eid prayers in its courtyards to be a dangerous and unprecedented escalation and a flagrant violation of freedom of worship, stressing that these measures aim to impose new Judaizing realities and isolate the mosque from its Palestinian and Islamic surroundings, calling on the international community to intervene urgently to stop these violations and guarantee freedom of worship in the holy city .
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A.B./A.F .
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