JERUSALEM, Monday, March 23, 2020 (WAFA) – Following a decision yesterday by the Islamic Waqf department in Jerusalem, which is in charge of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam, to shut down the holy site for worship by the general public in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease, its yards were today empty of people and only a handful of Waqf staff performed the noon prayer at the Mosque, according to officials.

The Waqf department said yesterday that after considering the situation with coronavirus, it has decided “to suspend the entry of worshippers from all the gates to the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque as of dawn on Monday, March 23, 2020 and for a temporary period at the recommendation of religious and medical figures.”

It said that only Waqf staff will be allowed into the compound and will hold prayers there, adding that while it regrets taking this decision, it is doing it to save lives and based on Islamic religious fatwas.

M.K.