For 5th week, Israel bans Palestinians from Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM

Israeli police on Friday prevented thousands of Palestinians to access Al-Aqsa Mosque for the Friday prayer for the fifth consecutive week.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, only a few hundreds of Palestinians managed to enter the mosque where the squares appeared to be almost empty.

Israeli police installed checkpoints at the entrances of Jerusalem's Old City and prevented Palestinians outside the Old City from accessing the mosque.

The police claimed that the measure is part of restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Palestinians instead performed the Friday prayer in the streets.

Last week, the Israeli government extended the restrictions till the end of January.

*Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report