Foreign ministers from eight Muslim-majority countries, including Egypt, condemned Israel’s closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, calling it a violation of international law and the historical status quo governing holy sites in Jerusalem.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the ministers said the restrictions constitute a flagrant violation of “the principle of unrestricted access to places of worship.” They described the closure as “discriminatory and arbitrary.”
Israeli authorities have barred Muslim worshipers from entering the Al-Aqsa compound for a thirteenth consecutive day, citing security concerns linked to the ongoing US–Israeli war on Iran. The site was first closed on Feb. 28 following Israel’s attack on Iran.
Civil Administration chief Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim said the closure was tied to the security situation during the war. Israeli authorities also announced that several religious sites in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, would be closed.
Israeli forces are expected to keep Al-Aqsa shut for Friday prayers on Mar. 13, the final Friday of Ramadan, when the mosque typically hosts hundreds of thousands of worshipers.
The closure also overlaps with Al-Itikaf, a period of spiritual retreat observed during the last ten days of Ramadan. The last time that Al-Itikaf and Taraweeh—prayers that occur each night of Ramadan—were banned during this period of the holy month was in 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem.
In occupied East Jerusalem, access to Al-Aqsa Mosque remains tightly controlled by Israeli forces, even as the site itself is formally administered by Jordan. While non-Muslims are barred from performing religious rituals inside the compound, groups of Jewish visitors are often escorted by armed security while passing Muslim worshipers.
Last week, thousands of Jewish worshipers celebrated the holiday of Purim in the surrounding Old City last week, underscoring the contradictions in Israel’s closure of Muslim holy sites.
The Al-Aqsa compound has been a focal point for Muslim-Jewish conflict for decades. The Temple Mount, located within the same compo, is considered the holiest site in Judaism. In recent years, right-wing Jewish groups have pushed to expand prayer rights on the mount itself, challenging the long-standing status quo.
The latest closure comes amid escalating Israeli repression Israeli aggression targeted at Palestinian Muslims.
In late February, Israeli forces arrested Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Abbasi, an imam at Al-Aqsa. The Israeli police also conducted a raid in the mosque during evening prayers on the first night of Ramadan.
Days later, the government announced that only 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank would be permitted entry—a fraction of the hundreds of thousands who typically attend. Access was restricted to narrow demographic categories: children under 12, men over 55, and women over 50.
Palestinian residents of Jerusalem describe a broader crackdown. One young man told Al Manassa that he was summoned for questioning in January and handed a six-month ban from Al-Aqsa, accused of “threatening the mosque’s security.” He said many others have received similar orders.
Those inside the compound were forcibly removed following the closure, while entry to the Old City itself has been limited to certain hours for Palestinians living outside its walls, according to the young man who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Similar actions against worshipers at Al-Aqsa have previously sparked broader unrest, including the Second Intifada and the 2021 Sheikh Jarrah protests.
For now, many worshippers continue to pray outside the gates of the Old City, while others are using social media to call for mass marches to Al-Aqsa for the final Friday prayers of Ramadan.
