A/HRC/8/18 page 10 security and order.23 The Court therefore concluded that Israel was obliged to put an end to the violation of its international obligations and that it should therefore dismantle the parts of the Wall situated within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It also concluded that Israel had the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all natural and legal persons concerned. No steps were taken by Israel towards the fulfilment of these obligations during the reporting period. Permit regime 24. The permit system imposed in the early 1990s continued to be applied to all Palestinian identity cardholders within the Occupied Palestinian Territory during the reporting period. Palestinian identity cardholders required a permit to enter East Jerusalem and Israel. The procedure for issuing permits was unclear, time-consuming and lacked transparency. For Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip, permits to enter Israel (and hence to travel to East Jerusalem or the West Bank) were very difficult to obtain, except in rare circumstances. Consequently, the permit system constituted a substantial impediment to access by Palestinian Muslims and Christians to their holy sites.24 25. On religious holidays, special permits were issued by the Israeli authorities. However, the number of worshippers declined dramatically before and during the reporting period. During Ramadan in 2005, some 150,000 worshippers were expected to attend the important last Friday of Ramadan prayer, but only 50,000 were permitted to do so. During Ramadan of 2006, attendance at Friday prayers showed a further sharp decrease compared to previous years.25 During Ramadan in 2007, access was hampered to both the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron. No Palestinians were permitted to attend the Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque on the second Friday of Ramadan and access to the three other Friday communal prayers was restricted to Palestinian men over the age of 50 and women over 45. On one occasion during the second week of Ramadan, Israeli border police stationed at the Ibrahimi mosque closed the entrance, trapping several worshippers inside for two hours. At Lailat al-Qader, Israeli settlers threw rubbish at Palestinians who were trying to reach the Ibrahimi mosque to pray. Members of the Israel Defense Forces fired sound bombs inside the mosque grounds, interrupting prayers and creating chaos among the worshippers.26 23 As concerns access to Christian, Jewish and Islamic Holy Places, the Court said the account also had to be taken of specific guarantees of access made in a number of instruments, dating from the Treaty of Berlin of 13 July 1878 to the 1994 Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan, article 9, paragraph 1 of which provides that “Each party will provide freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance.” ICJ advisory opinion paragraph 129. 24 B’Tselem, Ground to a Halt: Denial of Palestinians’ Freedom of Movement in the West Bank (August 2007), p. 24-27. 25 OCHA, East Jerusalem. The Humanitarian Impact, January 2008, p. 38. 26 OCHA Humanitarian Monitor, September 2007.