Israel Restricts Palestinian Worshippers at Al-Aqsa on First Friday of Ramadan

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the early morning at military checkpoints around Jerusalem in an attempt to reach the mosque, but Israeli forces barred most of them from entering, even though some held previously issued permits, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

Israeli soldiers also deployed large numbers of troops at checkpoints leading to the city, with senior military officers present and tight security measures enforced.

“Thousands of West Bank residents crowded at the Qalandiya checkpoint, and the occupation authorities did not allow them to enter on the grounds that the designated number permitted for Friday — only 10,000 people — had already been reached,” the Palestinian Governorate of Jerusalem said in a brief statement.

Israel heightened its security posture in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with the start of Ramadan on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, Israeli authorities have stepped up arrests and issued expulsion orders in East Jerusalem ahead of Ramadan, a Palestinian human rights organisation said.

Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, citing international resolutions that do not recognise Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1980.

Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Israeli military and illegal settlers have intensified operations across the West Bank, including Jerusalem, carrying out killings, demolishing homes, displacing Palestinians, and expanding settlements.