DaysofPal – Al-Aqsa Mosque has been closed to worshippers for the fourth day in a row by Israeli occupation forces in a serious escalation that goes beyond the stated security justification and fits within a larger effort to change the holy site’s longstanding status.
Palestinians have been barred from performing the Isha and Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramadan. Israeli forces have intensified their deployment around the mosque and at the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City, sending large numbers of Border Police and special units into the area. The narrow streets of the Old City have effectively been turned into a closed military zone. Worshippers have been prevented from reaching the mosque’s gates, and several individuals maintaining a religious presence at the site were reportedly assaulted.
Religious authorities say that the continuation and expansion of the war reflect an Israeli approach, which is a comprehensive campaign aimed at eliminating the Arab and Islamic claim to Palestine and imposing full dominance. They believe religious Zionism, supported by Christian Zionist currents, seeks to settle the struggle over Jerusalem by creating new religious and sovereign realities on the ground.
They point to the targeting of Al-Aqsa since the early days of the war, the increase in incursions during Ramadan, the expansion of time-based access divisions, and attempts to assert greater control over its administration. These developments, they say, indicate that Al-Aqsa is being treated as the symbolic centerpiece of a decisive battle over Jerusalem.
Religious and Humanitarian Concerns
The Palestinian Scholars Association described the closure of Al-Aqsa and the prevention of evening and Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan as a grave religious and humanitarian offense. In a statement, the body said the measures reveal a determination to impose a new Judaization reality under emergency and security justifications.
The association called on Muslim communities, scholars, and both official and grassroots institutions to uphold their religious responsibilities toward Al-Aqsa and to keep its cause central in public consciousness. It praised Jerusalem residents and those maintaining a constant presence at the site for their steadfastness. It also urged Palestinians in the territories occupied in 1948 and in the West Bank to travel to Jerusalem and challenge the closure. The group appealed to Muslim leaders and governments, particularly the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to take urgent and practical steps to halt violations and protect holy sites in Jerusalem.
Gradual Shift in Sovereignty
Jerusalem affairs expert Fakhri Abu Diab said the timing of the closure cannot be separated from accumulated policies aimed at altering the legal and administrative relationship with Al-Aqsa. He described the current measures as a test of the ability to impose new realities on the ground under a security pretext. He warned that continuation could entrench changes that may prove difficult to reverse, especially given widespread regional and international focus on the ongoing war.
Academic Abdullah Marouf, who specializes in Jerusalem affairs, said the developments reflect a gradual transition from traditional occupation management to an attempt to impose a new sovereign vision over Al-Aqsa. He argued that expanding time-based divisions, restricting worship during religious seasons, and maintaining full closure serve as pressure tools designed to redefine the historic status quo through incremental steps that accumulate over time and become permanent facts.
Israeli occupation forces justify the measures by citing a volatile security situation. Jerusalem sources counter that the scale of military deployment, the complete prevention of access for worshippers, and reported assaults on those at the site point to an unusually high level of escalation in the administration of the mosque.
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