Al-Aqsa Mosque: The Ishaa call to prayer (night prayer) is restricted and limited to internal speakers, coinciding with celebrations at the Al-Buraq Wall
The Ishaa prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday evening was only broadcast through internal loudspeakers in the prayer halls, as Israeli police prohibited the use of minarets and external speakers. This occurred during a ceremony at the Al-Buraq Wall attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, to mark what is known as the "Memorial Day for Soldiers Killed in Wars and Operations."
Eyewitnesses informed the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem that Israeli police officers entered the sound room inside Al-Aqsa and damaged sections of the loudspeaker wiring, which directly disrupted the call to prayer broadcast.
Based on the testimonies, the call to prayer was confined to the mosque's prayer halls and did not echo through minarets or external speakers. Yet, the sounds from nearby mosques' minarets, including those near Al-Aqsa, were clearly audible, even reaching its courtyards.
This issue has persisted since 2021, involving actions like cutting minaret wires, restricting external loudspeakers, or forcing those responsible for the call to prayer to lower its volume. This prevents the call from reaching the mosque's surroundings and courtyards. Each year, occupation authorities deliberately stop the call to prayer from reaching the loudspeakers on the Western Wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque adjacent to the Al-Buraq Wall, especially during the Ishaa prayer when Israeli Memorial Day commemorations take place at the site.
In a further violation last night, the occupation authorities lit up the Old City walls from the west, near Jaffa Gate, displaying the names of fallen soldiers. This facade is often used during official events for politically charged light projections, aiming to impose the occupation's narrative on the city's historical landscape.
