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150,000 flock to Jerusalem for first Friday of Ramzan
Jerusalem, Nov 09: Some 150,000 Muslim faithful gathered at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, a Israeli police spokesman said, adding that the situation had been `very quiet`.
Jerusalem, Nov 09: Some 150,000 Muslim faithful gathered at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, a Israeli police spokesman said, adding that the situation had been "very quiet".
"At least 150,000 people were on the Temple Mount plaza, but it has all been very quiet," Gil Kleiman said, using the Israeli term for the mosque compound.
Only one person had been arrested during the morning, an Israeli Jew wearing a traditional chequered Palestinian headdress, who had tried to get into the compound passing as a Muslim. Kleiman said the man was known to Israeli police.
More than 2,000 police were deployed through the city to prevent possible violence, Kleiman said.
There were no age restrictions put on male worshippers going to the site, he said.
Since the start of the intifada, Israel has often prohibited men under the age of 40 from entering the compound.
Increased police presence was visible in Israeli-annexed Arab east Jerusalem and in the city's western, Jewish part. The road outside Jaffa Gate, one of seven entrances to Jerusalem's Old City, had been closed to traffic.
A police statement said additional checkpoints would be set up throughout the city, while police patrols would be reinforced and a surveillance helicopter brought in.
The compound is Islam's third holy site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is also holy to Jews.
It is there that the intifada, or Palestinian uprising, broke out in September 2000 when Ariel Sharon, now Israel's prime minister, entered the compound on a controversial visit.
Muslims fast from dawn-to-dusk during Ramzan, one of the five pillars of Islam, which marks the revelation of their holy book, the Koran, and is also a period of alms giving.
The faithful also abstain from smoking and sex during daylight hours for 30 days, a period of religious fervour.
Bureau Report
Only one person had been arrested during the morning, an Israeli Jew wearing a traditional chequered Palestinian headdress, who had tried to get into the compound passing as a Muslim. Kleiman said the man was known to Israeli police.
More than 2,000 police were deployed through the city to prevent possible violence, Kleiman said.
There were no age restrictions put on male worshippers going to the site, he said.
Since the start of the intifada, Israel has often prohibited men under the age of 40 from entering the compound.
Increased police presence was visible in Israeli-annexed Arab east Jerusalem and in the city's western, Jewish part. The road outside Jaffa Gate, one of seven entrances to Jerusalem's Old City, had been closed to traffic.
A police statement said additional checkpoints would be set up throughout the city, while police patrols would be reinforced and a surveillance helicopter brought in.
The compound is Islam's third holy site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is also holy to Jews.
It is there that the intifada, or Palestinian uprising, broke out in September 2000 when Ariel Sharon, now Israel's prime minister, entered the compound on a controversial visit.
Muslims fast from dawn-to-dusk during Ramzan, one of the five pillars of Islam, which marks the revelation of their holy book, the Koran, and is also a period of alms giving.
The faithful also abstain from smoking and sex during daylight hours for 30 days, a period of religious fervour.
Bureau Report