(21 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem – 21 March 2025
1. Muslims worshipers praying in the yard outside the Dome of the Rock at the compound of al-Aqsa Mosque
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muhamed Abu Rmileh, worshipper from Jerusalem: ++STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT++
"It used to be full of people from all over the area, by God’s grace. May God return it to how it was before, and may God stop the war in Gaza so the situation can return to the way it used to be."
3. People gathering inside al-Aqsa Mosque
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Moath Salah, worshipper from Nablus in the West Bank: ++STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT++
"The return of the war in Gaza makes you feel pain and sadness. As an ordinary human being, you feel like you have nothing you can do."
5. worshippers inside al- Aqsa Mosque
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Walid Salmeh, worshipper from the town of Salfit in the West Bank: ++OVERLAID WITH CUTAWAYS IN SHOT 7++
"During the war in Gaza, big changes happened in Jerusalem — including coming to Jerusalem, praying in Jerusalem, performing Tarawih prayers in Jerusalem and even just speaking in Jerusalem. These things were better in the past, but now the situation is very difficult."
7. Various of the Dome of the Rock Mosque and worshippers
8. Worshippers, pigeons flying
STORYLINE:
Some 80,000 Muslim worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem during the third week of Ramadan, according to the Islamic Trust, which oversees the site.
The prayers took place amid rising tensions after Israel returned to war and resumed its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which threatens to be even deadlier and more destructive than the last.
Worshippers said the impact of the war in Gaza is being deeply felt in Jerusalem.
"It used to be full of people from all over the area, by God’s grace. May God return it to how it was before, and may God stop the war in Gaza so the situation can return to the way it used to be," said Muhamed Abu Rmileh, worshipper from Jerusalem.
"The return of the war in Gaza makes you feel pain and sadness," said Moath Salah, another worshipper who came from Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, the Israeli government blocked Palestinians in the West Bank from crossing to Jerusalem or visiting Israel.
During previous Fridays in Ramadan, Israel only allowed men over 55 and women over 50 to enter from the occupied territory for the prayers.
The Old City is located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed to its capital in a move not recognized internationally.
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