JERUSALEM, August 12, 2011 (WAFA) – Some 200,000 Muslims attended the second Friday of Ramadan prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, according to officials from the Muslim Waqf (Trust).

They said the yards of Al-Aqsa were packed with people who started arriving at the Mosque since the early Friday hours.

Israel, which deployed a large police force in and around East Jerusalem, allowed male Palestinian residents of the West Bank who are over 50 years of age and women over 45 to enter freely into Jerusalem to attend the Friday prayer. All others had to get a permit first.

Muslim residents of the Gaza Strip were not allowed to reach Jerusalem for the second Ramadan Friday in a row.

The prayers ended without any incident, but thousands of worshippers remained behind in Al-Aqsa to perform the remaining prayers and to end their fast in the Mosque, after which they will perform the special Ramadan night prayers, known as taraweeh.

M.A.