Israel Restricts age of Muslims Wishing to Pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel restricted the age of Muslims who will be allowed to hold the third Friday of Ramadan prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem at men over 50 and women over 40 residents of East Jerusalem and Israel only. Muslim residents of the West Bank, who arrived in the thousands at Israeli checkpoints around East Jerusalem, will not be allowed into Jerusalem. They were allowed in the last two Fridays to reach the Mosque if they were over 50 years or had special permits to reach Al-Aqsa. Israel said it imposed the restrictions in fear of protests against the latest Israeli military campaign against the Gaza Strip. Witnesses said Israeli police set up barricades around East Jerusalem and its neighborhoods since the early Friday hours, checking identity cards of people trying to reach the Old City. Many were turned back and few were allowed through the barricades, said witnesses. Those not allowed through sat in the streets outside the Old City Wall in preparation to hold the Friday prayer as a group in the streets. While an estimated 200,000 Muslims were able to reach Al-Aqsa last Friday, the number is expected to be much lower this Friday with the restrictions. Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque are sacred to Muslims, whose number during these Fridays can at times reach half a million, many times more than the normal Fridays of the rest of the year.