A picture taken on March 1, 2019 shows the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Arguing there was no longer any reason for it to remain shut, Palestinian officials reopened the building last month and crowds of worshippers prayed inside despite the Israeli closure. “It is anticipated that a forced closure by the police will trigger significant numbers of Palestinians rallying or breaking the closure.”
“It is our right, religious and contractual, to access the Golden Gate and keep this door open for Muslims to pray,” he said. Waqf spokesman Firas al-Dibs said that since the latest dispute erupted Israel had arrested nearly 130 Palestinians in Jerusalem, including senior Muslim officials.Access to Golden Gate was closed by Israeli court order in 2003 during the second Palestinian intifada over alleged militant activity there, police say.The compound is the third-holiest site in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.