***image2***Thousands of Palestinians used makeshift ladders to climb over the apartheid wall this Friday after being barred from entering Jerusalem to attend prayers at the Dome of the Rock. Occupation forces used tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannon to try to disperse the crowds.
The confrontation at the West Bank checkpoints outside Jerusalem began in the early morning as hundreds of Palestinians tried to go to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for prayers.
Thousands of worshippers went to the Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Hanina, north Jerusalem, where sniper towers have not yet been installed in the wall, and used improvised ladders climb over in order to get to prayers in time.
***image3***Those who were successful joined others from Jerusalem. In total around 170,000 Palestinians managed to reach the mosque. Thousands of others remained stuck outside the wall.
It is considered an honour to attend Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa and occupation forces are making it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to attend.
Since 2003, the Occupation has built 181 km of walls around Jerusalem, in an attempt to totally isolate it from the rest of West Bank. Around 134 km of walls carve through the middle of Palestinian neighbourhoods. The wall is nearing completion, though sniper towers have not yet been installed on most of it.
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