500000 pray at Al Aqsa for Laylat al-Qadr

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshipers gathered in the city of Jerusalem on Tuesday evening to spend the night in the holy Al Aqsa mosque, on the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr. Over 500,000 people flooded into the holy prayer site from various parts of Palestine. Israeli occupation forces closed the Qalandia crossing, north of Jerusalem, and directed vehicles instead to the Hazma crossing. However the flood of worshipers forced them to reopen the crossing. The roads connecting the entrances of the Holy City and Al Aqsa Mosque were jammed with people and buses that failed to transport them after the crowds arrived from Jerusalem and its suburbs, cities and towns inside the Green Line, and the provinces of the West Bank. Israeli police closed the Old City and surrounding neighbourhoods and allowed only public buses so that citizens could be transported. Jerusalem scouts guided and organised the prayers in the mosque, while volunteers provided thousands of meals to those who had come to pray. The vice president of the Islamic Movement inside the Green Line, Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib said that his movement dedicated hundreds of buses from southern Palestine (al-Naqab), and even villages along the Lebanese border, to transport citizens to Al Aqsa Mosque. Laylat al-Qadr  is significant for two reasons. Islam states that is the the first night the Holy Qu'ran (the religious text followed by Muslims) first descended on Prophet Mohammed. Praying in Al Aqsa Mosque is said to be equivalent to 500 prayers in other mosques. Al-Khatib said another advantage was that the enormous Muslim presence during this time would deter the "Judaisation" projects set forth by the Israelis. "Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque are especially threatened by Israeli draft laws that seek to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews, and this was the best response to the Zionists' plans," he said.