Yesterday, I was sitting home, watching my favorite news channel, where a news report showed a reporter roaming the streets of Jerusalem, close to the area of the Muslim holy mosque Al Aqsa. The reporter was interviewing people concerning their nasty experiences of trying to get into the mosque, and being denied this right.

This report came after Israel pledged to make the lives of Palestinian worshippers’ much easier this Ramadan, by loosening up their restrictions a little bit.

One interview captured my attention; it was with an old woman, her face covered up with cute wrinkles, and anger masked her eyes and voice. She was showing the interviewer some ID papers, proving that she was above 70 years old, yet she was forbidden to enter the mosque to do her prayers. Several women around her agreed on the fact that they were also in their 60s and 70s, yet denied access to the Aqsa Mosque to do their prayers.

At the same time, you find news saying that:

“Israel loosened restrictions governing who can enter Jerusalem from the West Bank to allow Palestinian men over 50 and women over 45 to enter, as well as Palestinians with special permits. Under usual Israeli restrictions, only Palestinians with permits are allowed to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank.” – Associated Press.

I guess men and women who fall in the age range below the ones set above do not need to pray in holy mosques, why would they?!!
And for those interviewed women, who can blame Israeli police, you never know what a skinny seventy-something-year-old woman could do inside a mosque. She may be hiding tons of explosives under her skirt, or maybe start a riot… Who knows! They need to be careful, even from 70-year-olds, as by the end of the day, they are not just 70-year-olds; they are PALESTINIAN 70-year-olds!