Amman, Oct. 2 (Petra)-- Tens of thousands of worshipers performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound despite Israeli forces’ restrictions and measures imposed on those seeking to reach the Old City and the mosque.

The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said that tens of thousands of worshipers attended Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Palestinian media reported that Israeli forces prevented dozens of young men from reaching the mosque after stopping them and checking their identification cards. Israeli forces were also heavily deployed around the Old City and the mosque.

Separately, the Jerusalem Governorate said that 11,409 settlers had stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Jewish holiday season, from Rosh Hashanah until the end of the incursions on Thursday.

It said the period had witnessed a clear escalation in the frequency of settler incursions, religious rituals and accompanying Israeli measures inside and around Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The incursions were accompanied by increasingly public and extensive religious rituals, with the participation of Israeli ministers, rabbis, officials and political figures.

The Jerusalem Governorate said the developments at Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings constituted a serious escalation targeting the mosque’s Islamic identity and its existing historical and legal status.

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot continues today, Friday, October 2, and will be followed on Saturday, October 3, by the Jewish holiday known as Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah).

//Petra// MF