Palestinians face growing Al-Aqsa bans as Israel tightens restrictions

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, has been barred from praying or delivering sermons at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem until April 2027. The exclusion order, issued on October 20, is the fifth such measure against him since August 2024, he told Al Jazeera.

Sabri has been kept away from the site — the third holiest in Islam and a Palestinian national symbol — for more than two years. The restrictions began after Israeli police detained him in August 2024 over a sermon in which he mourned Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader assassinated by Israel. Sabri, one of the most prominent Palestinians in East Jerusalem, said he has also faced repeated Israeli interrogations.

He described the latest extension as unjust, illegal, inhumane and uncivilised, and said it was intended to silence those speaking out about Al-Aqsa. He said he would keep defending the mosque, which he called an integral part of his Islamic faith.

"These measures are aimed at diminishing the Palestinian presence at the mosque, while simultaneously allowing settlers to carry out incursions in large numbers," he said. "Such actions represent an aggressive policy targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic presence within it."

More than 1,000 orders recorded

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Palestinian human rights monitoring group, says Israeli authorities have issued more than 1,000 exclusion orders barring Palestinians from Al-Aqsa and the Old City since the start of 2026, including against religious figures and Islamic Waqf employees. It documented more than 40 orders in five days in early September and reported an increase ahead of Jewish holidays.

Ibrahim al-Natsheh was released by Israeli police earlier this month after a week in detention. He was arrested while attending funeral prayers for his cousin at Al-Aqsa, and said officers handed him a six-month exclusion order barring him from the Old City, with no specific charge. He said he has lost count of the orders he has received, and that he has been prevented from entering the mosque even without one.

"The orders banning us from the mosque provide no specific reason; they simply cite 'disturbing the peace', even though we are there solely to pray," he said. He also alleged that officers arrested him at Al-Aqsa's gates and beat him in detention.

Al Jazeera said it had approached Israeli authorities for comment and had not received a response.

Settler visits and Waqf constraints

Ma'rouf al-Rifai, an adviser to the Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem Governorate, told Al Jazeera that restrictions on Muslim worshippers intensified during recent Jewish holidays, including temporary closures, the prevention of noon prayers on at least one occasion and limits on Old City residents' access during settler visits.

The governorate recorded almost 28,000 settler visits to Al-Aqsa between July and September. Israeli authorities closed the compound to most worshippers for 40 days after the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28, reopening it on April 9.

Al-Rifai said the Islamic Waqf Department's role has been curtailed: police have stopped Waqf officials from accompanying Jewish groups, reduced the authority of mosque guards and arrested or barred several employees, leaving fewer than 15 guards on the morning shift compared with about 50 before. He said restoration work at the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall has been blocked and maintenance of trees and gardens restricted, and warned the changes could alter the longstanding arrangements under which the Waqf manages Muslim religious affairs while Israeli police oversee security and access.

Source: Al Jazeera.