Did Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and if he did not, then why did he not pray there, especially with the narration stating that he refused to pray in a church so that it would not be demolished?

Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, prayed Tahiyat al-Masjid (two rak'ahs upon entering a mosque) in Al-Aqsa Mosque. He then led the Muslims in Fajr prayer, reciting Surah Sad in the first rak'ah and prostrating during it, and Surah Al-Isra in the second. He refrained from praying inside the church for fear that Muslims would use it as a pretext to seize it from the monks.