Israel resumes weekly Gaza visits to Aqsa

After a one month freeze by the Israeli authorities on visitation to Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Gaza Strip, Palestinians were permitted this week to resume trips for weekly Friday worship. 

Some 200 Palestinians above the age of 60 crossed out of the besieged coastal enclave via the Erez crossing Friday morning, and are expected to return immediately after performing prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, sources at the Palestinian liaison office told Ma’an. 

Spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee Muhammad al-Maqadmeh said the Israeli authorities agreed earlier this week to reverse a decision to bar the weekly visit. 

A spokesperson for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) told Ma’an that worshipers from Gaza would be able to enter the Aqsa compound as part of Israel’s "extensive civil policy towards the Gaza Strip," as long as Palestinians "meet their commitments." Israel, following the ceasefire agreement that ended its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip in 2014, began permitting 200 elderly Gazans to worship at the holy site every Friday. 

However, Israel froze the agreement on March 16 due to allegations that Palestinians traveling for worship were not returning to the Gaza Strip on the same day of the visit, as the agreement stipulated, posing a "threat to security."

Source: QNA