Tens of thousands of Muslims gathered under heavy security at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, among them Palestinians who crossed into Israel from the West Bank.
The prayers at Al-Aqsa took place for the first time since a shaky ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October. It was the first opportunity many had to leave the West Bank and pray at the site in Jerusalem’s Old City since Ramadan last year.
