Tensions high around Al-Aqsa mosque as Ramadan begins As Ramadan begins, thousands of police have been deployed around the narrow streets of the Old City in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshippers are expected every at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of the holiest sites in Islam. It is feared the mosque could become a flashpoint of violence during Ramadan and amid the war in Gaza, with a spokesman for the armed wing of the Hamas militant group calling on "our people" to mobilise and head towards Al-Aqsa.