<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Palestinians celebrate Eid&nbsp;al-Adha]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.maannews.net/images/345x230/153507_345x230.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><strong>Maan News Agency | Nov 6, 2011</strong></p>
<p>JERUSALEM (Reuters) &#8212; Muslim worshipers throughout Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem marked the beginning of the four-day feast of Eid al-Adha on Sunday.</p>
<p>In Jerusalem&#8217;s Old City, thousands of worshipers gathered at the Al-Aqsa mosque to attend early morning prayers, then visited the graves of relatives to pay their respects, one of the holiday&#8217;s traditions.</p>
<p>In the West Bank city of Ramallah, President Mahmoud Abbas and other officials held holiday prayers at the presidential compound, and later laid a wreath on the grave of late President Yasser Arafat.</p>
<p>Asked about the latest Israeli and US criticism over Palestinian efforts to gain recognition by United Nations agencies, Abbas said that those are Palestinians natural &#8220;rights&#8221; and he will continue to ignore anyone who objects them.</p>
<p>Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad wished for his nation, that by Eid next year, Palestinians will have an independent state.</p>
<p>&#8220;I hope that by the next Eid all the Palestinian wishes of freedom and independence will come true. And I am sure that we are in the right way, and the end of this mission will be achieving an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 lands.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, attended prayers in the enclave which remains under an Israeli blockade.</p>
<p>Haniyeh spoke about the killing of a Palestinian militant by Israeli forces in southern Gaza late on Saturday. Two other men were injured.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is a message to this nation and a message for all the people who are offering sacrifices: sacrifices are sometimes not only sheep, it is a way in which we praise God. The way toward Al-Aqsa, freedom and dignity is impossible unless there is blood,&#8221; Haniyeh told worshipers.</p>
<p>An Israeli military spokesman said an aircraft fired on the militants who were preparing to fire a rocket into Israel. Islamic Jihad said the man killed and the two men hurt in the attack east of Khan Younis were members of the militant group.</p>
<p>Eid al-Adha &#8212; the Feast of Sacrifice &#8212; is one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar. It includes the pilgrimage to holy city of Mecca, known as &#8220;Haj&#8221;, which is one of the five pillars of Islam and supposed to be undertaken by every Muslim who can afford to do so.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=435366">Source and more at Maan News Agency</a></strong></p>
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