At least 80,000 people took part in the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, according to the Waqf, the Jordanian authority that administers the site, amid heavy Israeli restrictions in the occupied West Bank.
Shortly before the prayers began, worshippers streamed through Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, under a surprisingly pleasant February sun following days of murky dust clouds.
Crowds shuffled slowly and quietly towards the gates of the compound, amid heavy Israeli security. The procession briefly halted after a proud father stopped to take photos of his two sons in white thobes.
When the prayer concluded, Israel's police said events went ahead "as usual".
Police operated in "security missions, maintaining public order and directing traffic, with the aim of enabling the arrival of tens of thousands of worshippers" to Al Aqsa and the holy sites and to "exercise freedom of worship safely, while maintaining the required security and safety aspects", a statement from the police read.
Even though Ramadan is supposed to be a month for charity, community and kindness, there is always some trepidation around the first Friday prayers in Jerusalem, particularly since the onset of the Gaza war in 2023.
For Palestinians, it is about whether they will be allowed to observe the holy month fully, free from Israeli harassment, restrictions and provocations. For Israelis, it is about whether the tensions of the past few years might somehow erupt inside their own country, and not just in the occupied Palestinian territories, where most do not venture.
In the days running up to the holy month, Israeli police promised they would be ready to ensure things went ahead without a hitch. On Friday, it seemed to be going to plan, bar the usual questioning of some people pulled over by the police. But in Jerusalem, Ramadan is increasingly defined as much by what is restricted as by what is permitted.
Al Aqsa Mosque personnel, including senior imams, have been expelled from the compound this year.
Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al Abbasi, imam of Al Aqsa Mosque, was detained on Monday evening from inside the mosque’s compound, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported that Israel’s police broke a years-long custom of co-ordinating with the Waqf. There are also reports the Waqf was prevented from installing sun and rain shades and temporary health stations.
Thousands of people in the occupied West Bank will not be able to join prayers due to restrictions that Israel says it has put in place for security reasons.
Entry from the West Bank is limited to men over 55, women over 50 and children under 12. Israel said it will grant permits to 10,000 Palestinians from the territory to enter the mosque this year – a fraction of the number who have attended to mark the occasion in previous years.
Wafa reported that Palestinians holding "special permits" were turned away from Jerusalem at checkpoints in Qalandia and Bethlehem.
There are also tensions around police loosening restrictions on religious Jews visiting the compound during Ramadan. A status quo agreement normally places restrictions on non-Muslims visiting, particularly during religious holidays.
The restrictions were particularly limiting for Jews and, not so long ago, any expression of Jewish religious practice was heavily policed, for fear of igniting tensions with Muslims. That is not the case any more, and groups of Jewish people are regularly seen praying and singing loudly near the mosque, regarded as the third most holy site in Islam.
So far, although it has elicited widespread criticism and anger, this development has not been directly linked to clashes in Jerusalem. But whether heightened sensitivities over Ramadan change that remains to be seen.
Hamas accused Israel of "deliberately [humiliating] worshippers heading to Al Aqsa Mosque through harsh military measures and continuing violations" and that it was imposing "Judaisation" on the site.
