- Title: West Bank worshippers reach Israeli checkpoint for Jerusalem Friday prayers
- Date: 27th February 2026
- Summary: QALANDIA, WEST BANK (FEBRUARY 27, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF ISRAELI FORCES AT CHECKPOINT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ARRIVING AT CHECKPOINT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 60-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN FROM WEST BANK, ALLAN SALAHAT, SAYING: "I don't have a permit and they sent me back, I have a magnetic card (referring to ID issued by Israeli authorities for Palestinians) and they told
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Bethlehem Friday prayers Israel Jerusalem Palestinians Qalandia Ramadan West Bank
- Location: QALANDIA AND BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK
- City: QALANDIA AND BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK
- Country: Palestinian Occupied Territory
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001902327022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Palestinian worshippers coming from West Bank cities arrived at Israeli checkpoints on Friday (February 27), hoping to cross to attend second Friday prayers of Ramadan at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Some said they were not allowed to enter and were asked to go back.
Israeli authorities said they would only allow up to 10,000 Palestinian worshippers from the West Bank to attend prayers at al-Aqsa, as security forces stepped up deployments across the city.
Police said preparations for Ramadan had been completed, with large numbers of officers and border police to be deployed in the Old City, around holy sites and along routes used by worshippers.
Israel's COGAT, a military agency that controls access to the West Bank and Gaza, said that entry to Jerusalem from the West Bank would be capped at 10,000 worshippers. Men aged 55 and over and women aged 50 and over will be eligible to enter, along with children up to age 12 accompanied by a first-degree relative, COGAT said.
Up to 80,000 worshippers attended the prayers on the first Friday of Ramadan on February 20, according to the Islamic Waqf, the religious foundation that overseas the mosque
Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of Jerusalem's old city. It is Islam's third holiest site and known to Jews as Temple Mount.
(Production: Ismael Khader, Yosri AlJamal, Mohammed Torokman, Lara Afghani) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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