As a sermon about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan blared over speakers from the Al Aqsa Mosque, 13-year-old Yousef al-Sideeq sat on a bench outside the compound’s gate.
“Most Fridays they stop me from entering, for no reason,” said the young Jerusalem resident, referring to the Israeli police.
Every Friday, Yousef visits Jerusalem’s Old City to pray at Al Aqsa, the third holiest site for Muslims and part of a compound sacred to Jews, called the Temple Mount. But since the October 7 Hamas attack and subsequent Israeli bombing of Gaza, the heavily armed Israeli police forces guarding many of the Old City’s gates have barred him from entering the compound, he said. .
He has only entered twice.
Muslim access to the mosque has long been a point of contention as Israel has tightened control over the compound in recent years, one of many restrictions Palestinians living under decades of occupation have had to endure. of Israel.
As Ramadan begins, many also fear what, if any, additional restrictions Israel might impose on the religious site, which could attract 200,000 people a day from not only Jerusalem but the occupied West Bank of Israel and Israel as a whole.
Israeli police said the people “entered after enhanced security checks are being carried out due to the current reality, along with efforts to prevent any disturbances.” But they did not answer specific questions about whether there was a policy preventing some worshippers, especially young men, from entering the mosque on Friday.
They said they “maintain a balance between freedom of worship and the need to ensure security.”
Late Sunday, Palestinian and Israeli news media reported that police prevented many Palestinians from entering Al Aqsa to perform prayers for the start of Ramadan. Both media a video is mentioned which showed officers with batons chasing and beating some Palestinians.
Israel said there would be no change to the status quo, only allowing Muslims to worship at the compound. The site is revered by Jews as the location of two ancient temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, the compound containing the Al Aqsa Mosque and other important Islamic prayer sites. The compound includes the Dome of the Rock, a prayer hall with a golden dome.
Israel acquired East Jerusalem, including the Old City and the Aqsa compound, from Jordan in 1967 and later annexed it. Most of the world considers it to occupy the territory and does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over East Jerusalem.
Many Palestinians say their access to the Al Aqsa compound has become increasingly tight in favor of Jews, who consider the Temple Mount the holiest site in Judaism.
Incidents in the compound sometimes became the cause of wider conflicts. The second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, began in 2000 when Ariel Sharon, who became Israel’s prime minister, visited Al Aqsa surrounded by hundreds of police. Clashes at the compound in May 2021 contributed to the outbreak of the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that has been in control of Gaza for years, called its October 7 attack in southern Israel the Al Aqsa Flood, saying it was part of a response to “Judaization plans ” in the mosque.
The attack killed about 1,200 people, and about 200 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel’s attack on Gaza in its war against Hamas has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan health officials.
In recent years, Jewish worshipers have prayed inside the Aqsa compound. The most extreme seek to build a third Jewish temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock.
Some of the most provocative episodes were raids on the Aqsa compound by baton-wielding police forces who fired tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets that clashed with Palestinians who threw stones and set off fireworks.
“The Al Aqsa Flood came in response to the violations of the inhabitants against Al Aqsa,” said Walid Kilani, a Hamas spokesman in Lebanon, referring to Jewish worshipers.
Israeli police officers “attacked the mosque and insulted Muslim prayers there,” he added. “We have to retaliate, because Al Aqsa is our holy place and is mentioned in the Quran.”
In the first weeks of the war, only Muslims aged 60 and over were allowed in, said Mohammad al-Ashhab, a spokesman for the Waqf — an Islamic trust that oversees the mosque and that is funded and administered by Jordan.
Attendance at Friday Prayer, a Muslim holy day, dropped to just 1,000 from 50,000, he said.
Although the situation has improved since then, he said, many Muslims are still prevented from attending.
Many Palestinians fear for the future of Al Aqsa, especially while Israel’s far-right government is in power.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government said it had decided against placing new restrictions on Al Aqsa during Ramadan and would allow a similar number of worshipers as in previous years.
In addition to long-standing Israeli restrictions on Muslims coming from the occupied West Bank, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, called on the government to impose limits this year on Palestinian citizens of Israel.
However, the vague language of the Israeli government’s decision has some concerned. Human rights groups fear that freedom of worship may be curtailed under the guise of security and safety.
“Netanyahu’s statement does not actually guarantee full freedom of access for Muslims to Al Aqsa, but rather conditions it on security and safety needs,” said Ir Amim, a rights group. of Israel focused on Jerusalem, in a statement following the decision. “This in turn could lead to a decision to ultimately apply collective entry restrictions during Ramadan.”
“Our freedom of worship has gone backwards,” Mr. al-Ashhab said.
To reach the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Muslims worshiping on Friday had to pass through at least three layers of police barricades, where authorities prevented people from entering, checking IDs or searching for bag Many came with prayer rugs.
AbdulAziz Sbeitan, 30, hurries to a Muslim cemetery on the edge of the Old City, turned away from the Lion’s Gate, one of seven entrances to the historic district. He was on the phone with friends trying to get in from other gates.
The Jerusalemite always attends Friday Prayer at Al Aqsa, but since October 7 he has not entered even once. Every Friday he tries many gates.
Sometimes she accompanies an older woman or girls in an effort to get through, but each time the police push her back, she said.
“This is the house of God and the house of our ancestors,” said Mr. Sbeitan as he quickly walked towards Herod’s Gate. “As Muslims, this is important; Al Aqsa is for Muslims.”
When he arrived at Herod’s Gate, he saw many young men with their backs turned, in some cases violently pushed by the police.
Curse Mr. Sbeitan while lighting a cigarette, watching. Around him other young men offered advice and, in some cases, encouragement.
“Come on, let’s try another gate,” said one of his friends.
“Guys, we tried all the gates, they won’t let you in,” another man told them. “They let us in once, and when we were inside the gate they pushed us back.”
He said the Israeli police told him that young men were not allowed to enter. Like many others, the man, a 28-year-old from Jerusalem, did not want to give his name for fear of police retaliation.
It’s not just young singles who are banned. Fathers with small children and some women were also turned away.
“It’s all according to their whims,” said one woman as she walked away after being prevented from entering the Lion’s Gate.
As the call to prayer sounded inside Al Aqsa, Yousef, the 13-year-old, joined an impromptu gathering of dozens of young men who could not enter.
In recent weeks those prevented from praying inside Al Aqsa have been gathering in the streets and holding their own sermons and prayers. But on Friday it seemed more difficult as Israeli police drove them away from the Lion’s Gate and further outside the Old City walls.
Undeterred, a man begins the call to prayer, sometimes barely audible over the sound of sirens and horns along the street, buses passing by and police officers shouting.
Soon, another man stepped over a sidewalk stone barrier and began giving an off-the-cuff sermon.
“Shall we not liberate Palestine?” said the man, who gave his name only as Yousef, fearing retribution despite the risk he took leading a sermon.
When he finished, more armed police piled into two cars.
The man appeared unfazed. He then led dozens – mostly teenagers and men in their 20s and 30s – in prayer on a crowded Jerusalem sidewalk flanked by two churches and the Virgin’s Tomb. The golden Dome of the Rock, the centerpiece of the Aqsa compound, is barely visible above the Old City walls.
Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting from London.
