Masjid Al-Aqsa to reopen on Sunday after 2 Months

Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound will reopen after remaining closed for two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, all doors of the mosque compound will be reopened for worshippers on Sunday at dawn, the mosque’s Director Omar al-Kiswani informed.

The Waqf, the body that looks after the mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, said that they will reopen the site for public after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which continued from May 24 to 26.

All details regarding how to open the mosque, whether the compound will be accessible by worshippers, or if visitors will be allowed into the courtyard has not been decided yet.

Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque to reopen on Sunday for public
Credit: iStock

The site referred to as the Islam’s third holiest site closed its doors to the public for the first time in late March in more than half a century, to contain the spread of Coronavirus, which has infected more than 5.5 million people around the world.

With the number of Coronavirus positive cases declining in the recent days, Palestine and Israel have started to ease certain restrictions, and reportedly, some religious sites in Jerusalem have started to reopen. However, all this while, the Al-Aqsa Mosque remained shut, even during the Eid al-Fitr festival. Now, the authorities are gearing up to reopen it this Sunday.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque has long been a major reason for conflict between Israel and Palestine. Recently, the Israeli police and Palestinians got into a scuffle on the first day of Eid as worshippers tried to break in and enter the compound.

With inputs from TOI