For Palestinians, holiest Ramadan night starts at checkpoint
By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press
QALANDIYA CHECKPOINT, West Bank (AP) — For many Palestinians, the journey to one of Islam’s most sacred sites on the holiest night of Ramadan begins in a dust-choked, garbage-strewn maelstrom. Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshippers from across the occupied West Bank on Monday crammed through a military checkpoint leading to Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque for Laylat al-Qadr, or the “Night of Destiny.” For Palestinian worshippers, praying at the third-holiest site in Islam is a centerpiece of Ramadan. But hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are barred from legally crossing into Jerusalem. Israel describes the controls on Palestinian worshippers as an essential security measure.
