“Many Palestinians here invited me to their homes; I’m very surprised, yet very happy.”

Starting his journey from France on foot, Neil Dauxois received a warm welcome from many Palestinians when he arrived at Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

The 26-year-old French Muslim of Algerian descent completed a 10-month journey covering a distance of 3,900 kilometres.

He passed through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Türkiye, Cyprus and Jordan to reach his destination.

“My mother was worried, but after seeing me in videos on social media, she told me she was proud of me,” the young Muslim said, adding that his next goal is “to go for Hajj to Mecca in a month and a half.”