Photos: Rare snowfall carpets Jerusalem

Snow covers the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem Old City, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. A rare snowfall hit Israel and the West Bank, closing schools and businesses.

Worshippers had to trudge through inches of snow to reach the holy sites in Jerusalem's walled Old City, including the snow-capped Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall.

Heavy snow is rare in the city, so children went out into the streets to watch the flakes falling and hurl snowballs at each other.

People stand on the snow coverered ground as they pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Palestinians enjoy the snow next to the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem Old City's Al Aqsa Mosque compound.

In neighbouring Jordan, heavy snowfall closed roads in the capital Amman and made driving conditions treacherous across much of the country. Above, boys play with snow at the pillars of the Roman Temple of Hercules at Amman Citadel, an ancient Roman landmark covered in snow in Amman.

Jordan's Meteorological Department forecast more snowfall on higher ground with temperatures expected to fall below freezing again on Thursday night.

Men walk on the snow coverered ground at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

An aerial view shows the Monastery of the Cross in snow-covered Jerusalem.

A Palestinian vendor arranges his snow-covered pomelos following an overnight snow fall in the West Bank town of Hebron.

Children clear the snow from a car in Jerusalem.

A view shows snow-covered Roman amphitheatre in downtown Amman, Jordan January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Alaa Al Sukhni