Palestinians face growing bans from Al-Aqsa as Israel tightens control
Summary
Israeli authorities have barred Sheikh Ekrima Sabri from Al-Aqsa Mosque until April 2027, extending a series of exclusion orders that began after his 2024 detention. Palestinian monitors and worshippers say restrictions on Palestinians have increased, while far-right Jewish religious activists have increasingly been allowed to pray at the site under police protection.Key Facts
- An exclusion order issued on October 20 bars Sabri from praying or preaching at Al-Aqsa until April 2027.
- Sabri heads the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem and has faced repeated exclusion orders since August 2024.
- Police detained Sabri in August 2024 after a sermon in which he mourned Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, whom Israel assassinated.
- The Wadi Hilweh Information Center says Israeli authorities issued more than 1,000 orders barring Palestinians from Al-Aqsa and the Old City since the start of 2026.
- The center reported that Israeli authorities issued more than 40 exclusion orders over five days in early September, ahead of Jewish holidays.
- Ibrahim al-Natsheh said police detained him for a week after he attended funeral prayers at Al-Aqsa and then issued him a six-month ban from East Jerusalem’s Old City.
- Al-Natsheh said he has received repeated exclusion orders over about nine years, sometimes citing “disturbing the peace” without giving a specific reason.
- The article says far-right Jewish religious activists have increasingly been allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa under Israeli police protection.
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