Cops forcefully clear Eid prayers outside Jerusalem’s Old City amid Iran war closure

Muslim worshipers clash with police as holy sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque and Western Wall, are off limits to most while wartime restrictions on gatherings remain in effect

Hundreds of Muslim worshipers clashed with police while holding Eid al-Fitr prayers at the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Western Wall and other holy sites remain closed amid the war with Iran.

A few hours later, a fragment from an intercepted Iranian ballistic missile struck some 400 meters from the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount, causing damage at a parking lot in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter but no injuries.

Since the start of the US-Israel war against Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have, for security reasons, barred access to the Old City for anyone other than residents or shop owners. The restrictions extend to all holy sites, including the Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which have been closed since March 6. Gatherings nationwide remain limited to 100 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, provided a shelter can be reached in time.

For Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, Muslim worshipers denied access to the Old City arrived with prayer mats under their arms at dawn on Friday under the watchful supervision of Israeli police.

Shouting “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”) or chanting the shahada (the Muslim declaration of faith), the crowd tried to push through the city gates.

Police forcefully dispersed hundreds of worshipers, with footage showing officers using tear gas and batons against the crowd of Palestinians, running after individuals who gathered to pray outside Herod’s Gate.

At least one individual was arrested, Haaretz reported.

Eventually, the worshipers managed to take up a position next to Herod’s Gate as the police relented for a few minutes and allowed the street prayers to take place.

An imam standing on a plastic stool delivered a short sermon.

“Pray, invoke Almighty God and hope that your prayers will be answered,” he told the worshipers. “O God, grant victory to the oppressed.”

The Israel Police then pushed back the worshipers, who dispersed without resistance into the narrow streets, buying still-warm bread from street stalls as they went.

‘Broken heart’

The gathering of just a few hundred worshipers was a far cry from the typical way Eid is usually marked in Jerusalem, when some 100,000 people flock to the Temple Mount compound.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary. It is home to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, and the iconic Dome of the Rock shrine.

Researchers say this is the first time the site was closed during the last 10 days of Ramadan and for Eid al-Fitr since Israel captured East Jerusalem and the Old City from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed them in a move not recognized internationally.

“Today, Al-Aqsa has been taken from us. It’s a sad and painful Ramadan,” Wajdi Mohammed Shweiki, a silver-haired Palestinian man in his 60s, told AFP.

“It’s a catastrophic situation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for Palestinians in general and for all Muslims across the globe,” he added.

The Israel Police said that “despite the high-alert status, police allowed prayers to be conducted on the street outside the Old City of Jerusalem without intervention.”

“However, officers were required to enforce… life-saving guidelines when crowds later exceeded authorized capacity and seemingly attempted to breach security perimeters into the Old City,” they said.

Authorities maintain that they are solely concerned with enforcing Home Front Command wartime guidelines, but critics have accused law enforcement of operating on a double standard when it comes to Jewish versus Arab public gatherings.

Earlier this week, the Foreign Press Association lambasted police for what it called an “unprovoked assault” on journalists covering evening prayers outside the walls of the Old City, which left a CNN producer with a fractured wrist.

Officers detained several reporters, damaged photographic equipment and confiscated memory cards, the statement read.

There is also fear among some Palestinians that it could be part of efforts to rewrite the strict rules governing access to Jerusalem’s holy sites.

The Temple Mount has seen violence, particularly with large crowds gathering during Ramadan, and has seen clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces over the years, with Hamas using its religious symbolism as a means of rallying support.

“The occupier, under the pretext of security and for its own interests, has closed the mosque,” said cleric Ayman Abu Najm, who had come from Beit Hanina, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

“In the history of the occupation, this is the longest period during which the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been closed.”

Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.

While politics and faith are always closely tied in this flashpoint city, for some Muslims the inability to access Al-Aqsa this year was felt as a deep personal loss.

“Ramadan without the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a very sad feeling, a feeling of having a broken heart,” said worshiper Zeyad Mona.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.