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HEALTH-VIRUS-JERUSALEM
Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque to reopen after Eid holiday
JERUSALEM, May 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque will
reopen to worshippers after the Eid holiday, a statement from its
governing body said Tuesday, two months after closing due to the
coronavirus.
“The council decided to lift the suspension on worshippers entering
the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque after the Eid al-Fitr holiday,” a statement
from the Waqf organisation said, referring to the three-day holiday
expected to begin this weekend.
Islam’s third holiest site was closed in late March for the first
time in more than 50 years as part of measures across the globe to
stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
The mosque’s director, Omar al-Kiswani, told AFP he hoped for no
restrictions on the number of worshippers but said the governing body
would announce the exact “mechanisms and measures later.”
He said the details would be worked out to “ensure we are not
subjected to criticism on the pretext we have broken health rules.”
The mosque compound, which lies in Jerusalem’s Old City, has often
been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, the mosque compound is
under the custodianship of neighbouring Jordan which controlled the
West Bank, including east Jerusalem, up until its occupation by Israel
in the Six-Day War of 1967.
The site is also holy to Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount
and believe it to be the location of the two biblical temples — the
second of which was destroyed in 70 AD.
With the number of COVID-19 cases declining, in recent days both
Israel and the Palestinian territories have eased restrictions.
The Western Wall, the holiest site at which Jews are permitted to
pray, is one of the outer walls of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
It was closed by Israeli authorities but reopened earlier this
month, though with only 300 people allowed at a time.
In total, Israel has recorded 16,650 coronavirus infections in its
population of nine million and 277 deaths.
On the Palestinian side, fewer than 400 cases have been confirmed
in the West Bank and Gaza — which have a combined population of more
than 4.5 million.
Beaches in Israel are due to reopen from Wednesday, with
restaurants and bars to follow from the 27th. Flights are also due to
resume from various locations in the coming weeks.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1745hrs