OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Israeli authorities are escalating their policy of banning Palestinians from Aqsa Mosque, restricting Jerusalem residents’ access to the holy site and preventing them from praying or remaining there, as settler incursions intensify during the Jewish holiday season.
Israeli authorities recently banned seven Jerusalem residents from Aqsa Mosque for six months, including mosque guard Samer Abu Qweider.
Several Jerusalem residents received the banning orders through WhatsApp, accompanied by maps identifying areas they are prohibited from entering. The restrictions cover Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards and entrances as well as roads leading to the compound, effectively extending the bans to the surrounding area.
Figures indicate that the policy has expanded significantly this year, with hundreds of banning orders issued against Jerusalem residents since the beginning of 2026, including hundreds during the first half of the year. Over the past several years, more than 1,000 orders banning Palestinians from Aqsa Mosque have been issued.
During the first days of September, Israeli authorities issued additional banning orders as Jewish holidays approached and restrictions on worshipers and Palestinians maintaining a presence at Aqsa intensified.
An escalating policy
The banning orders have targeted a broad range of Palestinians over the years, including Aqsa guards, employees of the Islamic Waqf Department, worshipers, activists and prominent Jerusalem figures. The repeated measures restrict their presence at the Mosque and their ability to access it.
The escalation comes as Aqsa Mosque witnesses an increase in settler incursions, particularly during Jewish holiday periods. Palestinians fear that these occasions are being used to impose new realities at the holy site and gradually alter the existing status quo.
Bans Accompany Rising Settler Incursions
The policy has been accompanied by tighter Israeli restrictions at Aqsa’s gates and entrances and increased limitations on Palestinian worshipers, while settlers continue to storm the Mosque compound repeatedly.
Palestinians have also raised concerns over attempts by settlers to perform Jewish religious rituals inside the compound, which they view as part of broader efforts to change the established status quo at the site.
Jerusalem residents warn that the growing use of banning orders as a systematic measure is intended to reduce the Palestinian presence at Aqsa while expanding settler access and religious activity at one of Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy sites.
The escalating bans, settler incursions and restrictions on Palestinian worshipers have heightened concerns that Israeli authorities are seeking to impose gradual changes to the existing reality at Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings.
