RAMALLAH, West Bank — As Jerusalemites protested at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in July, in rejection of the Israeli decision to install metal detectors at the holy site, members of the city's African community offered protesters water and food. They also welcomed worshippers into their homes during the protests, as the hub of this community is located near Al-Aqsa, around the Council Gate (Bab al-Majlis).

Jerusalem's African community is relatively small and consists of nearly 50 families living in the Bab al-Majlis neighborhood of the Old City. The majority of the community comes from countries such as Chad, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. Their ancestors came to Jerusalem in successive periods, beginning in the Ottoman era and continuing into the British Mandate.

Moussa Qaws, a co-founder of the African Community Society in Bab al-Majlis, told Al-Monitor that Africans "immigrated to Palestine for two main reasons: the first is religious and consists of the hajj [to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which often follows the pilgrimage to Mecca]. In fact, Africans who used to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem were rewarded a privileged social status. The second reason is jihad and the [religious] bond [formed] in Jerusalem.”

Though Africans first began to visit Jerusalem in the Ottoman period, Qaws said they only started settling there in the 1940s, during the British Mandate. Most Africans came to the city as part of the Arab Liberation Army, which included volunteers from various Islamic countries who wanted to help the Palestinians in their fight against the British and the Zionists. Many African members of the army stayed in Jerusalem after the fighting concluded. According to Qaws, Jerusalem's African community numbers around 750 people at present.