DaysofPal – For the 12th consecutive day, Israeli occupation forces have kept both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre closed to worshippers, enforcing sweeping restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem’s Old City and places of worship. These extraordinary actions coincide with a stepped-up military crackdown in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
Local sources confirmed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque remains completely closed to worshippers, with entry permitted only for Islamic Waqf staff and mosque guards. The same applies to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which has been entirely shut off to Christian worshippers. Access to the Old City itself has been limited to residents only, enforced through a network of military checkpoints.
“These are unjustified and unacceptable measures,” said Sheikh Akrama Sabri, the preacher at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Israel is exploiting the atmosphere of war, first in Gaza, then with Iran, to impose tighter control over Al-Aqsa and to undermine the authority of the Islamic Waqf, the sole legitimate custodian of the mosque.”
Sabri stressed that Israel’s policies are deliberately designed to “prevent worshippers from accessing the mosque,” calling the ongoing closure “worrying and dangerous.”
The Israeli restrictions, which began intensifying on April 13, have expanded to a full-scale lockdown of key roads and neighborhoods throughout East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This includes road closures between Jerusalem and Ramallah, particularly the Jaba checkpoint, and the sealing of neighborhood entrances in Al-Tur and other areas using concrete blocks.
Night raids have become frequent in areas including Jabal al-Mukaber, al-Issawiya, al-Tur, Wadi al-Joz, and Kufr Aqab, where residents report the use of tear gas and stun grenades inside homes.
An Anadolu correspondent reported that many shops in the Old City have shut down due to the restrictions, dealing a severe blow to the local economy.
Ziad al-Hamouri, director of the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, described the measures as “unprecedented,” noting that while similar closures were seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, “since the start of the war on Iran, they have been far more severe.”
“Israel is trying to destroy the commercial sector in the Old City,” al-Hamouri said. “These restrictions are part of an effort to push out the 35,000 Palestinian residents who live there.”
He added that Israel’s strategy includes “a combination of neighborhood closures, commercial strangulation, and psychological pressure through repeated night raids.”
The left-wing Israeli organization Ir Amim, which monitors developments in Jerusalem, confirmed a “sharp escalation of restrictions and forced closures” since Israel’s recent attack on Iran.
“In a matter of days, we documented a series of aggressive measures taken by Israeli security forces,” the organization reported. “These include night raids, the use of force inside residential buildings, and arrests based solely on social media activity, all targeting Palestinians.”
The group emphasized that the emergency measures reflect “systematic discrimination against East Jerusalem residents,” who continue to suffer from chronic infrastructure neglect.
It also highlighted the severe disparity in civil protection: while new bomb shelters have been constructed in West Jerusalem, less than 10% of East Jerusalem neighborhoods have access to any shelter facilities, leaving roughly 400,000 Palestinians exposed during escalations.
The Israeli government has not issued an official explanation for the continued closure of the city’s holiest sites, nor for the sweeping measures imposed on Palestinians in and around Jerusalem.
Israeli raids in the broader West Bank, which includes Jenin, Tulkarm, and the Nour Shams refugee camp, have destroyed hundreds of homes, killed dozens of Palestinians, and forced over 40,000 to flee their homes since January 21.
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