Ramadan's first Friday prayers are held at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered under heavy Israeli restrictions at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, including some who were allowed to enter from the occupied West Bank.

The Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa took place for the first time since a shaky ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October. It was the first opportunity many had to leave the West Bank and pray at the site in Jerusalem’s Old City since Ramadan last year.

Israel restricted the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the West Bank to 10,000 on Friday, and only allowed men over 55 and women over 50 as well as children up to 12. It has imposed similar restrictions in the past, citing security concerns.

The hilltop, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary. Today it is home to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

It has frequently been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli police said more than 3,000 police were deployed across Jerusalem. They said their presence was not meant to show aggression or force but was aimed at providing help in case of an emergency.

Many Palestinians view the heightened Israeli security presence, and increasing visits by religious and nationalist Israeli Jews, as a provocation. They fear that Israel intends to take over or partition the compound. The Israeli government denies having any such plans.

Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian religious authority that administers the compound, said there were 80,000 in attendance. In normal times, Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa can draw up to 200,000.

Ezaldeen Mustafah, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was among those lamenting the restrictions.

“We need more people than this,” he said.

Some Palestinians from the West Bank on Friday said they were turned away from crossing into Jerusalem even though they had permits. Jihad Bisharat said he was told his permit had been canceled and was sent back. Israel's army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Israel annexed east Jerusalem, a move not recognized by most of the international community, and considers the entire city to be its capital.

Many Palestinians said the month’s typically festive spirit is eluding them as they struggle with grief and losses following two years of conflict in Gaza sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel.

“All the mosques have been bombed,” said Ramiz Firwana, a Gaza resident who gathered with other worshippers for a Friday sermon and prayers held in schoolyard.

On Thursday evening, families sat amid the rubble and destruction for iftar, the meal held at the end of the daily dawn-to-dusk fast.

“Despite the displacement, the pain and the destruction, we want to rejoice and live,” said Mohammad Kollab, from Khan Younis. “We are not a people destined only for destruction and killing."

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in the initial attack.

The Oct. 10 U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal has brought an end to major military operations and the release of the remaining hostages. But Palestinians, including many civilians, are still being killed in near-daily strikes that Israel says are aimed at militants who threaten or attack its forces.

Associated Press reporters Sam Metz contributed from Ramallah, West Bank, and Wafaa Shurafa from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

A Muslim worshipper prays outside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the holy month of Ramadan, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Palestinian worshippers pass through the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem on their way to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinian worshippers line up to pass through the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem on their way to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Muslim worshippers offer prayer on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Muslim worshippers offer prayer on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Muslim worshippers make their way to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the holy month of Ramadan, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Muslim worshippers offer prayer on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Muslim worshippers offer prayer on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Friday after discouraging reports showing a combination of slowing growth for the economy and faster inflation created relatively few ripples in the market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and is close to dropping to a third straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 175 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

Treasury yields also did not move much in the bond market following the economic reports. While they were disappointing and underscored the tricky situation the Federal Reserve may be facing as it sets interest rates, the reports did not change traders’ expectations much for what the Fed will ultimately do.

One report said that the U.S. economy’s growth slowed to a 1.4% annual rate during the end of 2025. That’s down from a 4.4% burst during the summer and “a bummer of a number,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.

A second report said the measure of inflation that the Fed likes to use accelerated to 2.9% in December from 2.8% in November. An underlying measure that economists consider a better predictor of where inflation may be heading quickened to 3% from 2.8%.

The Fed could lower rates to give the economy a boost, as it did last year and as President Donald Trump has been demanding, but that would risk worsening inflation. Fed officials said at their last meeting that they want to see inflation fall further before they would support cutting rates further.

Following the reports, traders are still mostly betting that the Fed will lower rates at least twice by the end of this year, according to data from CME Group. But some shifted the timing for when the cuts could begin to slightly later in the summer.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.07% from 4.08% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, held at 3.47%.

On Wall Street, Akamai Technologies helped lead the market lower after falling 10.1%. The cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported stronger results for the end of 2025 than analysts expected, but it gave a profit forecast for the upcoming year that fell short of estimates.

Akamai plans to spend a bigger percentage of its revenue this upcoming year on equipment and other investments. It’s the latest potential indicator of how higher prices for computer memory amid shortages created by the AI boom is affecting customers throughout the economy.

That helped offset a 5.6% gain for Comfort Systems after the provider of heating, ventilation air conditioning and electrical services reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Brian Lane said his company is seeing “unprecedented demand.”

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a more mixed finish in Asia.

The Hang Seng fell 1.1% after Hong Kong’s market reopened following Lunar New Year holidays, but South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.3% to a record, led by major defense contractors like Hanwha Aerospace, whose shares soared 8.1%. The company is one of many benefiting from a ramp up in military spending in many countries.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Specialist Patrick King, left, and trader Robert Charmak work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Options trader Anthony Spina works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Options trader Anthony Spina works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)