During the month of Ramadan, holy for Muslims, attention in Palestine and many parts of the world is often focused on Jerusalem and the spectacular Haram al-Sharif, where anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000 Muslim worshippers typically come together for Friday prayers. Ramadan, the month of fasting and worship, has in the past turned violent as Israel restricted access to Islam’s third holiest mosque, al-Aqsa, which is located in the compound. This year, the first days of the month have been quiet, although the real test is on Fridays, when tens of thousands of worshippers attempt to cross into Jerusalem from other parts of the occupied West Bank.

But Israel has imposed tighter restrictions aimed at preventing that influx.

On February 28, 2025, the Israeli prime minister’s office announced restrictions on Palestinians holding Palestinian Authority (PA) ID cards and entering Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank this year. In total, only 10,000 of such individuals were allowed to enter via the three checkpoints on the first Friday, which fell on March 7, 2025.1 Only men aged over 55, women aged over 50, and children under age 12 (carrying a birth certificate and accompanied by a parent) holding both entry permits and magnetic cards are eligible to enter via the checkpoints to proceed to the mosque, provided they pass a further “security clearance.”

However, even should one pass all those requirements, the window of time allowed for entry is slim: only between the noon and afternoon prayers (so between 11:50 a.m. and 3:10 p.m.), after which they must immediately return back and submit a physical fingerprint before 5:00 p.m. Being late to return can result in a fine or a permit denial the next time one tries. Failing to fingerprint at all can also bring more serious consequences, such as a search of one’s home.2

In previous years, women of all ages have been allowed to enter as well as youths up to age 16. This meant a far greater number of worshippers were able to reach the mosque and pray. For example, two years ago, before the war, in the spring of 2023, Israel allowed as many as 50,000 or 100,000 PA ID holders to enter on some of the Fridays during Ramadan.3 So this year’s quota is far smaller.

In addition to imposing macro-restrictions, Israel is banning categories of Muslims. For example, this year, for the second year in a row, Israel banned Palestinian medical teams from entering al-Haram al-Sharif and setting up emergency tents.4 More significantly, all the Palestinian prisoners/hostages from Jerusalem who were released as part of the first phase of the latest ceasefire agreement with Hamas in January and February of this year were banned from entering al-Aqsa Mosque for six months on the eve of Ramadan without any plausible justification.5

Israel’s ban on worship, a violation of freedom of religion, is used so indiscriminately that it arguably is not security related but rather motivated by revenge.

Ahmad Safadi, who himself has been banned from entering the mosque at different times, spoke to Jerusalem Story about the arbitrary nature of the current list of those banned from entry.

Safadi said that when he arrives at al-Haram al-Sharif, especially during Ramadan, he is stopped, his identity card is checked and examined, and often he is prevented from entering; he is never given a reason. He told Jerusalem Story that he makes the rounds to other gates in the hope that another guard might allow him to enter.

In addition to groups, Israel bans individuals from accessing the compound. These types of bannings escalated in the weeks leading up to Ramadan this year.7

For example, 23-year-old Khaled al-Abdullah, from the Old City, had hoped to enter al-Aqsa this month; he has not seen the mosque for more than a year, because the police prevent all young people from even approaching the gates of the mosque: “Fortunately for me, on the first night of Ramadan, I was able to enter to perform tarawih prayers. I was so happy, I felt that I was given a new life. Al-Aqsa for us is both identity and homeland. It is impossible to imagine Jerusalem without al-Aqsa.”

On his way out, an Israeli policeman stopped him and told him, “You will not enter again, and your picture has been circulated on all the doors, so be careful not to try.” His elation at being able to pray in al-Aqsa quickly turned to dejection. “Isn’t it an injustice that I can see the Dome of the Rock every day from my house, yet they don’t allow me to approach it?”8

In fact, about 400 individuals have been banned in the weeks leading up to Ramadan this year. The bans can last anywhere from a week to six months and are often renewable. Such bans are executed in a variety of ways: Authorities might call individuals and inform them they are banned; summon individuals for questioning at the al-Qishla police station; arrest them at the gate of the mosque or inside their home; and even in some cases, inside the mosque itself.9

This happened to several journalists already this year, such as Muhammad ‘Adli Abu Sneineh. He was inside the mosque on Sunday, March 2, 2025, when he was arrested by the police and taken to the nearby police station, where he was handed a banning order from al-Aqsa.

Journalist Bayan al-Ja‘aba and her husband, journalist Muhammad Sadiq, had a similar experience. They were arrested when they took their children to al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, February 28, 2025. Sadiq was released after being given a banning order, while al-Ja‘aba spent a day in Israeli prison on charges of incitement.

Many who were banned from al-Aqsa Mosque performed Friday prayers on its doorsteps.

Israeli police were massively present, especially on Friday. That day, about 3,000 of them were stationed across East Jerusalem, including at checkpoints.10 Silwanic described the situation as follows:

This year, for the first time, Israeli police and security forces were present in the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque during the tarawih prayers from the beginning of Ramadan; sources in the Waqf Department describe it as an unprecedented violation of the sanctity of the place. An eyewitness said that they are there to ensure that none of the worshippers remain after the end of the tarawih prayer to spend the night in the mosque. The presence of Israeli police and security forces has increased tension in the holy place, which still retains the spirit of Ramadan even though the joy of the month has not been manifested for more than a year.

The Waqf Department made sure that the mosques in the vicinity of al-Aqsa Mosque were open and well-lit to allow worshippers to use the ablution areas in them, especially on Fridays. More than three years ago, the Israeli authorities confiscated the keys of the health facilities established by the Waqf in Bab al-Ghawanima, which can accommodate more than 500 people at one time; no reason was given, according to the Director of Public Relations in the Waqf Department, Muhammad al-Ashhab.

“The service units are limited in al-Aqsa, and to facilitate the worshippers coming to al-Aqsa, mosques near al-Aqsa will be opened so that worshippers can use their ablution facilities.”12

He added that the units are located in the area of Bab al-Qattanin, Bab Hutta, and outside Bab al-Majlis and Bab al-Asbat.

Despite the tightened Israeli measures, which analyst Ahmad Safadi considered more severe than last year’s measures, tens of thousands were able to participate in tarawih prayers in the mosque in the first days of Ramadan. Performing these prayers is considered a great blessing, according to Judge Muhammad Sarandah, the preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque and a member of the Waqf Council. Ramadan is announced only after the crescent moon is sighted. He asserted that everyone who makes the journey to al-Aqsa Mosque in the month of Ramadan gets the blessing of the place; worshippers are enveloped in its spirituality and the blessing of the Quran in the month of the Quran, which was revealed in Ramadan.

Judge Sarandah added: “Despite the tense atmosphere that prevails in Jerusalem and al-Haram al-Sharif due to the strict Israeli measures, this blessed month is a time of spirituality, including prayer, fasting, and recitation of the Quran.”13

For many Jerusalemites, particularly in light of the situation in Gaza and the massive Israeli displacements of areas of the occupied West Bank, the joy of Ramadan was mixed with a lot of anxiety and fear that restrictive Israeli measures might suddenly and inexplicably escalate to an unknowable boiling point.