The sacred Masjidul Aqsa will reopen to worshippers after Eid al-Fitr holiday, the authority responsible for overseeing the city’s holy sites said on Tuesday. In a statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department said steps to reopen the site will be announced soon.

The Waqf said that it had reached the decision based on advice from medical practitioners and its ongoing monitoring of the trajectory of COVID-19. Guidelines are to be published soon on how the opening of the Masjid will be managed. The Waqf has said that the decision is its own, and it remains the sole body responsible for making decisions relating to Masjid Al-Aqsa. It further extended best wishes to the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which will be marked on Sunday.

The mosque was shut to worshippers late March amid the spread of the novel coronavirus in Palestinian territories.

Palestinian authorities confirmed 576 coronavirus infections, including 67 cases in East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located.

Masjid Al-Aqsa is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Source: Anadolu Agency