The streets in Jerusalem’s Old City were quiet on Friday as only a few worshippers made their way to al-Aqsa mosque for prayers.

A CNN producer reported seeing an increased Israeli police presence and some worshippers were stopped from entering, despite the fact that there are no official restrictions.

The occupied West Bank has been closed since October 7 and people from there wishing to worship at the mosque cannot do so.

Shops are mostly closed as shopkeepers are on strike following the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

Some context: The al-Aqsa compound is one of the most revered places in Islam and Judaism. The sacred grounds, known to Muslims as Al Haram Al Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as Temple Mount have been a flashpoint of tensions between Israel and the Palestinians for decades.

Only Muslims are allowed to pray in the compound under a status quo arrangement originally reached more than a century ago. Non-Muslim visitors are allowed visits at certain times and only to certain areas of the complex.

But many in the Muslim world fear that the right to be the sole worshipers there has been eroded and that the sites themselves are being threatened by a growing far-right Jewish movement and Israel’s far-right government.

Clashes have frequently broken out at the site between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli forces. Police raided the compound several times over the last year.

CNN