JERUSALEM, Apr 08 (Reuters): Tens of thousands of Muslims flocked to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan for noon prayers, which passed peacefully despite concerns about a repeat of Israeli-Palestinian violence that erupted during the Muslim holy month last year.
From early morning, residents of cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank lined up at Israeli checkpoints to visit Al-Aqsa.
After two years of Covid restrictions, Israel has allowed some Palestinians from the West Bank who hold a travel permit to enter Jerusalem.
But tensions are again high in the city holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims. "We thought they (Israel) won't let us enter due to the last escalation, but thank God everything is ok," said Hussein Abayat from Bethlehem. "Al-Aqsa is the most valuable thing we have, we do everything in our power to visit it and the rest is up to God."
Meanwhile, Israeli security forces on Friday shot dead a Palestinian who killed two people in a Tel Aviv bar after an hours-long manhunt through the city.
The bar attack was the latest in a string of deadly street assaults that have killed 13 people and shaken the country. Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Israel would broaden its operations against the "wave of terror" and that the attackers and those who send them would pay a "heavy price".
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