ISRAEL has drastically curtailed access for Palestinians to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, allowing only a fraction of worshippers compared with previous years.
Al-Jazeera reported on Saturday that Israeli authorities announced that no more than 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank would be permitted entry to one of Islam’s most sacred sites, and only with permits.
Eligibility was limited to children under 12, men over 55, and women aged 50 or above. By the morning, approximately 2,000 Palestinians had crossed the Qalandiya checkpoint, as the region remained under a heightened military alert.
“There are 3.3 million people in the occupied West Bank … so allowing only 10,000 to pray on this first Friday of Ramadan is a drop in the ocean, and only a trickle have been able to make it in,” reported Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh from the checkpoint.
“In previous years, we’ve seen up to 250,000 worshippers at this holy site. Now only a fraction is expected, drawn from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Palestinian-Israeli citizens.”
Despite Israel’s restrictions, Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, which administers the mosque, reported that around 80,000 people attended Friday prayers.
Odeh described the measures as a deliberate attempt to weaken communal ties: “Getting to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is part of the Palestinian tradition, which has been going on for generations, for hundreds of years.
Spending the day there is extremely important; it’s part of the heritage of Palestinians.
Many will not be allowed to break their fast in Jerusalem as they’re used to, and that is just one more way that Israel is severing ties between occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank.”
The restrictions coincide with a reported surge in violence across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestinian authorities, rights groups, and the United Nations have raised alarms over what they describe as an escalation in attacks by Israeli settlers, including the widespread use of live ammunition, direct shootings at Palestinian civilians, burning of homes, and seizure of land.
The first Friday of Ramadan, traditionally a moment of communal prayer and cultural continuity, has this year become a flashpoint reflecting the growing humanitarian and political tensions in the region. - February 21, 2026
