WRAP Muslims join Ramadan's last Friday prayers, Israeli security op
(21 Nov 2003) Night shots 1. Worshippers praying in the Al-Aqsa compound with the Dome of the Rock behind them 2. Men praying inside Al-Aqsa mosque 3. Old man reading from the Quran 4. Pan of men seated by the wall praying 5. Two boys reading 6. Wide shot of worshippers entering the mosque 7. Dome of the rock Bethlehem 8. Wide shot Bethlehem checkpoint, with hundreds of Palestinians being held up behind barbed wire 9. Tilt up soldier, Palestinians waiting 10. Soldiers looking at woman's identification papers 11. Old man behind barbed wire 12. Wide shot of checkpoint Jerusalem 13. Pull out from soldier on Damascus gate to Palestinians waiting outside 14. Palestinians having their identification checked 15. Helicopter overhead 16. Palestinians having their papers checked 17. Veiled woman passing soldiers 18. Security 19. Exterior of the British Consulate with flag at half mast 20. Close up of flag 21. Coat of arms 22. Various of flag at half mast STORYLINE: Israeli security forces were on high alert on Friday, as thousands of Muslims tried to get into Jerusalem to pray during the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. Thousands packed into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam, early on Friday morning to pray during "Lailat al-Qader," the holiest day of the fasting month of Ramadan. The day marks God's revelation of the Quran, Islam's holy book, to the prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the hilltop in the Old City of Jerusalem where the al-Aqsa Mosque sits atop the ruins of the biblical Jewish Temples. It has long been a focus of the Arab-Israeli conflict, with both sides claiming it as their own. Outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, police checked people's identification, as worshippers made their way towards Al-Aqsa mosque. At Bethlehem checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians were held up as border police and soldiers slowly checked their papers. Frustrated worshippers stood tightly packed or sat on the ground behind barbed wire barricades. Meanwhile, the British Consulate was flying its flag at half mast in a mark of respect for Thursday's truck-bomb blasts at the HSBC Bank and the British consulate in Istanbul which killed at least 27 people and injured another 450. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
