How Israel is occupying Al-Aqsa Mosque
In a recent Middle East Eye report titled "How Israel is occupying Al-Aqsa Mosque," the footage captures the daily restrictions and incursions that have transformed the compound into a site of heightened tension for Palestinian worshippers. The video documents how Israeli forces control entry points, limit prayer times, and facilitate settler visits, painting a picture of gradual control that disrupts centuries-old religious practices in occupied East Jerusalem.
In a recent Middle East Eye report titled "How Israel is occupying Al-Aqsa Mosque," the footage captures the daily restrictions and incursions that have transformed the compound into a site of heightened tension for Palestinian worshippers. The video documents how Israeli forces control entry points, limit prayer times, and facilitate settler visits, painting a picture of gradual control that disrupts centuries-old religious practices in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Systematic Erosion of Access
Israeli authorities have extended daily windows for settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to the periods between 6:30 and 11:30 in the morning and 13:30 to 15:00 in the afternoon. These designated slots allow groups of settlers to enter under police escort while Palestinian worshippers face repeated checks and occasional blockades at the gates. On June 28, 2026, Israeli police confiscated identity cards from Palestinians attempting to enter and prevented many from reaching the prayer areas during one such incursion by 110 settlers.
The complete closure of Al-Aqsa to Palestinian worshippers lasted 40 days after Israel launched its war on Iran on February 28, 2026. The mosque reopened on April 9, 2026, when roughly 3,000 people attended morning prayers. This extended shutdown followed years of incremental limits that have reduced the number of worshippers able to reach the site on a regular basis. Palestinian families describe the uncertainty of planning visits around these changing rules, which affect everything from Friday prayers to family gatherings during religious seasons.
Israeli forces also blocked the call to prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron for eight consecutive days as of late June 2026. The same pattern of restricting religious sound and access appears at multiple holy sites, creating a broader sense among Palestinians that their ability to practice faith in public spaces is being steadily narrowed.
Ben-Gvir and the Settler Agenda
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound at least 16 times since taking office in 2022. During one of these visits he stated, "Today, I feel like the owner here." Ben-Gvir has also expressed his intention to build a synagogue on the Al-Aqsa compound, a proposal that directly challenges the existing arrangements at the site. Each of his entries occurs with heavy security that further restricts Palestinian movement around the compound.
Settler groups have increased their organized entries under this political climate. The June 28, 2026 incursion of 110 settlers included provocative rituals performed inside the compound while police maintained a visible presence at every gate. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem note that these events coincide with statements from officials that frame the site as open to new forms of Israeli use, raising fears that the historical division of the space is being altered in practice.
Ramadan Under Occupation
During Ramadan 2026, which fell in February, Israel restricted Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa by issuing permits to only 10,000 worshippers. In previous years the figure reached 250,000. The sharp reduction forced many families to pray at smaller local mosques or remain at home, altering the communal atmosphere that normally defines the holy month in Jerusalem.
Israel also prevented Eid al-Fitr prayers at Al-Aqsa in 2026. This marked the first such restriction since 1967. Worshippers who had prepared for the holiday found gates closed and access denied, an event that removed a central gathering point for Palestinian Muslims across the West Bank and Jerusalem at the end of Ramadan.
International Law and the Status Quo
Jordan's Foreign Ministry described Ben-Gvir's visits as a violation of the status quo agreement and called them a desecration of the site's sanctity. The Palestinian Authority condemned the repeated stormings as a blatant violation of the historical and legal status quo that has governed the compound for decades. Chief Justice of Palestine Mahmoud Al-Habbash labeled the settler actions a flagrant violation of the historical status that fuels religious war and threatens regional security.
These official statements align with long-standing international understandings that the Al-Aqsa compound remains under the custodianship of Jordan's Islamic Waqf while Israel maintains security control. The documented increase in incursions and the introduction of new prayer windows for settlers represent concrete changes to that arrangement on the ground.
What This Means for Palestinians
Palestinian residents of Jerusalem and the West Bank report that planning religious observance now requires checking daily announcements about gate openings and permit requirements. Elderly worshippers and families with young children find the repeated searches and sudden closures particularly burdensome. The 40-day closure in early 2026 left many without their usual place of communal prayer during a period of heightened regional tension.
The United Nations has warned about ethnic cleansing fears in Gaza and the West Bank. For those living near Al-Aqsa, the restrictions translate into daily decisions about whether to attempt the journey to the mosque or to worship elsewhere. Young Palestinians describe growing up with a site that their grandparents visited freely but that now demands permits, timing, and tolerance for police presence.
Analysis and Implications
The pattern of extended incursion windows, reduced permit numbers, and outright closures shows a consistent policy of limiting Palestinian religious practice at Al-Aqsa while increasing settler access. Each new restriction builds on the last, creating a cumulative effect that alters the lived reality of the site without a single formal announcement of changed rules.
Statements from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Chief Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash underscore the legal and religious concerns that accompany these developments. The first prevention of Eid al-Fitr prayers since 1967 stands as a concrete marker of how far access has narrowed. Continued monitoring by human rights organizations and religious authorities will determine whether the current arrangements become the new baseline or whether the status quo can be restored through diplomatic channels.
By Fatima Al-Rashid, Staff WriterWhat's Your Reaction?
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Gulf/MENA Correspondent at Global1.News. Based in Doha, covering Gulf politics, energy markets, diplomacy, and development across the Middle East and North Africa. Tracks the economic transformation of the Gulf states.
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