Arabic version: فلسطينيون يبلغون عن اتساع أوامر الإبعاد عن الأقصى
According to Al Jazeera, Palestinian religious figures, worshippers and Islamic Waqf employees are facing growing Israeli restrictions at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, has been barred from the site for more than two years, and an order issued on October 20 extends his exclusion until April 2027.
Sabri has faced repeated exclusion orders since August 2024, after Israeli police detained him over a sermon mourning Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel. Sabri said the latest order was the fifth issued against him and described it as an attempt to silence those speaking about Al-Aqsa. Israeli authorities have increasingly allowed far-right Jewish religious activists to pray at the site under police protection, contrary to a longstanding status quo, the report said.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Palestinian human rights monitoring group, said Israeli authorities issued more than 1,000 exclusion orders from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City since the start of 2026. It documented more than 40 orders over five days in early September, ahead of Jewish holidays. Ibrahim al-Natsheh said police gave him a six-month order barring him from the Old City after detaining him at funeral prayers for his cousin, without a specific charge.
Restrictions also affected the Islamic Waqf Department’s management of the compound, according to Ma’rouf al-Rifai, an adviser to the Jerusalem Governorate. He said police had prevented Waqf officials from accompanying Jewish groups, curtailed guards’ authority and arrested or barred several employees. Fewer than 15 guards now work the morning shift, compared with about 50 previously, he said. Israeli authorities closed Al-Aqsa 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 Jazeera said it sought comment from Israeli authorities but had not received a response.
