Over 100,000 hold Ramadan prayers on Temple Mount; security forces on alert

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Security forces were on alert in Jerusalem and the West Bank as tens of thousands of Muslims took part in mass prayers on the second Friday of Ramadan, including at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.

Border Police deployed 2,300 soldiers in Jerusalem and its surroundings and in the West Bank, the force said in a statement.

According to official estimates, over 100,000 people took part in the prayers on the Temple Mount, including some 52,000 Palestinians who entered Israel from the West Bank.

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt” Deut. 25:17

Palestinians take part in Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, March 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The Muslim holy month, which began Thursday and will end April 21, often sees elevated Israeli-Palestinian tensions, with frictions already high this year in Jerusalem and across the West Bank following months of deadly violence.

While there were no reports of violence at the Old City holy site, videos showed Palestinian worshipers chanting their support for shadowy Hamas military wing chief Muhammad Deif during morning prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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