By Reuters
JERUSALEM - Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound will be closed to Muslim worshippers throughout the holy fasting month of Ramadan due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Jordan-appointed council that oversees Islam’s third-holiest site said on Thursday.
A man walks in front of the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, after Muslim clerics shut the doors of Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock until further notice as a precaution against coronavirus (March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/ FIle Photo/MANILA BULLETIN)
The decision extends a ban on Islamic prayers at the holy compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount that has been in effect since March 23.
The council “decided to extend its decision to suspend the gathering of worshippers from all gates of the (compound) during the blessed month of Ramadan”, in line with clerical guidance and medical advice, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs said in a statement.