Nearly 300,000 Palestinians Observe Laylat Al-Qadr at Al-Aqsa despite Israeli Curbs

According to reports, about 280,000 Muslim worshippers from the occupied West Bank and al-Quds participated in night-long prayers on the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr at Islam's third holiest site.

Laylat al-Qadr marks the night when the Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is believed to have taken place on one of the final ten odd nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

The religious gathering was held despite the high presence of Israeli forces at the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque and the barriers erected around al-Quds.

"A significant number of worshippers came to al-Aqsa despite the occupation's arbitrary measures and procedures," Hamas spokesman Mohammed Hamada said in a statement.

Stressing that the presence of worshippers at al-Aqsa would thwart Israel’s plots to Judaize al-Aqsa and al-Quds, the spokesman urged worshippers to continue to flock to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound even after the holy month of Ramadan.

Since the start of Ramadan this year, Israeli forces have carried out several deadly raids at the mosque, attacking peaceful worshippers during prayers, with an aim of paving the way for incursions by illegal Israeli settlers.

Illegal settler incursions under police protection to the al-Aqsa mosque have been on the rise in recent years, leading to frequent confrontations with Palestinians at the mosque, with many Palestinians injured, arrested, or killed.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

Non-Muslim worship at the compound is prohibited according to an agreement signed between the Israeli regime and the Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967, though Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa is permitted.