Jerusalem Police brace for second Ramadan Friday prayers in Old City
Roads in the Old City are closed to enable thousands of people to make their way on foot to the Temple Mount.
By BENJY SINGERThe Dome of the Rock is seen in the background as Palestinians pray on the first Friday of Ramadan in 2018(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
Police are taking security measures and remain on high alert in and around the Old City of Jerusalem over Friday, as visitors arrived and prayers commenced on the Temple Mount for the second Friday of Ramadan.Roads in the Old City were closed to enable the thousands of worshipers to make their way on foot to the mount. "Extra police units and border police are mobilized in and around the Old City to enable thousands of people to arrive in the area and at the same time prevent incidents from taking place," the police foreign press spokesman said.He added that "police officers are also coordinating and carrying out security measures at the security crossings where buses are taking people into the area of the Old City." The measures will continue throughout the day.The first Friday of Ramadan remained largely quiet and without disturbances, as 180,000 Muslims, both Arab-Israeli and Palestinians, attended the prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.In past years, Ramadan had been tarnished on several occasions with violent riots on the Temple Mount and in the West Bank and Gaza.Last year, thousands of Palestinians rioted on the Gaza border as part of the March of Return protests, which intensified on the first Friday of Ramadan that year.In 2017, several terrorist attacks took place in the Old City during the last part of Ramadan, in which a policewoman was stabbed to death, and four other police officers injured in a shooting attack.
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