OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has continued to close the Aqsa Mosque for the 11th consecutive day, on Tuesday, preventing thousands of Muslim worshipers from entering their holy site for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
The ongoing closure of the Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan’s final 10 days sets a dangerous precedent, preventing Muslim worshipers from performing Tarawih prayers and I‘tikaf inside the Islamic holy site for the first time since Jerusalem’s 1967 occupation.
For its part, the Jerusalem Governorate warned of an incitement campaign led by extremist Jewish temple groups targeting the Aqsa Mosque amid its ongoing closure.
“What is happening cannot be considered temporary security measures, as claimed by the occupation authority, but rather falls within a political and ideological trajectory aimed at changing the existing religious, historical, and legal status quo of the Aqsa Mosque,” the Governorate said in a statement on Tuesday.
On Monday evening, the Israeli occupation police closed the Bab al‑Amoud area of Jerusalem and forced storeowners to shut their businesses after a group of Palestinian young men and women distributed Iftar meals to Muslim worshipers.
While Palestinians are barred from entering their Mosque for prayers and I’tikaf and doing Ramadan activities in the holy city, several settlers have recently been allowed to make religious gatherings in the Old City and near the Mosque’s gates under heavy police protection.
Since the Zio-American aggression against Iran started on February 28, 2026, the Israeli police have barred Muslim worshipers from entering the Aqsa Mosque, claiming its closure is part of wartime preventive measures.
