Jerusalem welcomes Ramadan with security measures, restrictions on prayer, and soldiers on top of the Dome of the Rock. While a few thousand prayed the Isha and Tarawih prayers in the Noble Mosque on the first night, dozens of young men performed the prayer in front of the doors.
The elderly Jerusalemite, Muhammad Hassan, told Al Jazeera Net that the occupation measures aimed at intimidating Jerusalemites and discouraging them from reaching the Old City and Al-Aqsa. In contrast, Muslims were denied the freedom of worship that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he would secure in the holiest months of the year.