Muslims mark first Ramadan Friday prayers in Jerusalem

Palestinian worshipers pray during the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers have gathered at a sacred Jerusalem plaza for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan after coronavirus lockdowns kept the site off-limits last year.

About 70,000 faithful, most of them Arab citizens of Israel, prayed at al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, said an official from the Islamic Waqf authority overseeing the Islamic section of the compound.