Recounting the event two days later, she still found it hard to believe: “I arrived at the door of al-Aqsa Mosque and was not allowed to enter Islam’s third holiest mosque to carry out the dawn prayers. The mosque was right in front of me, but the Israeli policeman refused to let us in, because we are from Turkey.”1

Fatima, 35, arrived in Jerusalem with a group of Muslim Turks, intending to visit Jerusalem and Hebron and pray with fellow Muslims in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. She was surprised by the many obstacles placed by the Israeli police when they arrived at Bab Hutta on their way to al-Aqsa Mosque for the morning prayer. One of the sheikhs of al-Aqsa Mosque, who was present outside the same gate, said that he saw the Turkish worshippers crying bitterly after they were prevented from entering al-Aqsa to perform the morning prayers.2

The sheikh told Jerusalem Story that Fatima and others were prevented from accessing the Islamic site because they are from Turkey, possibly for political reasons. There are also allegations of threats to anyone including the Waqf Department guards who try to intervene on behalf of the visitors. “I tried to enter and convince the Israeli police officers to allow them to enter, but the officer told me, ‘Shut up or we will arrest you.’” 

Jerusalem Story contacted the Jerusalem Police spokesperson by email and WhatsApp to inquire about the incident but had not received a response by the time of publication. Thus, despite receiving credible and continuous reports from eyewitnesses, our efforts to find out if this is a violation of freedom of worship have been limited by the refusal of Israeli officials to reply to our repeated inquiries.

The sheikh, who asked not to be named, added that this was not an isolated case. “The police deliberately obstruct and even prevent Muslims coming from Turkey, South Africa, and Indonesia from entering the mosque.” Some visitors try all the entry points to the mosque in the hope that one of them will be different, and sometimes they make it through.

Fatima tried that approach, but she was unsuccessful.

For three weeks, reporters from Jerusalem Story have been investigating this phenomenon and have concluded that foreign Muslims are prevented from carrying out the morning dawn prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque no matter which gate they use. Foreign Muslims might face some harassment and questioning at other times and at different gates, but there is a clear policy preventing their performance of the dawn prayer there, and the policy is enforced at all gates.

The Turkish consulate in Jerusalem refused to comment to Jerusalem Story on the experiences of its nationals, but diplomatic sources in Ankara told Jerusalem Story that the Turkish foreign ministry is aware of the problem.

A Jerusalem Waqf Department official, who asked not to be identified, said that he was told that the Israeli police deny the existence of an official policy to prevent anyone from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque; they claim there are “security criteria” that are taken into consideration.3

Jerusalem Story was present at the Bab al-Hadid entrance to al-Aqsa Mosque when one of the Waqf Department guards tried to intervene and told the police that the tourists were Muslim and should not be prevented. The Israeli policeman replied, “You don’t interfere, this is not your job.”

In fact, the determination of who is a Muslim at the mosque entrances is the responsibility of the Waqf Department guards and not the work of the Israeli police at all.

While access to the mosque for foreign Muslims is consistently denied for the morning prayers, the policy of denial during the rest of the day was inconsistent. Reports of prevention and harassment differed from one Israeli security person to another or from one gate to another.

One of the translators interviewed by Jerusalem Story said that while Israeli police have prevented Muslims from Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, South Africa, South Africa, and Turkey from entering for morning prayers in al-Aqsa, at other times they have been harassed but not consistently prevented.4

On most days, an Israeli security official might base his decision on the clothing and insignias on the clothing of Muslim foreign tourists or on whether he heard one of the tourists saying “Allahu akbar” in a loud voice.

At times, visitors are searched at the entrances to al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli security. “If the Israelis find a scarf with a picture of al-Aqsa or a wristband with the words ‘Allahu akbar’ written on it, or other symbols supporting the Palestinian cause, the entire delegation might be turned away and not allowed to enter,” a tour guide explained to Jerusalem Story.5

He added that Turkish tourist delegations suffer greater harassment than other delegations coming to Jerusalem. The focus on Turks increased after the stabbing of an Israeli policeman by a Turkish tourist in the Bab al-Zahra area more than a year ago.

The tour guide told Jerusalem Story that only two out of seven Turkish groups had been allowed to enter Israel in recent weeks.

Yet despite the harassments, the tour guide observed, more tours are coming to Jerusalem and visiting the holy mosque. “More Muslims in larger numbers, especially from Indonesia, Singapore, and Turkey, are visiting al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron since the ceasefire in Gaza was announced.”

Turkish-Israeli relations have been suffering from severe tension since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. The Israeli authorities have withdrawn some of the privileges that were granted to Turkish diplomats in Jerusalem, such as free parking for Turkish diplomatic cars, and there have been delays in granting residence visas to some Turkish diplomats (as well as diplomats from European countries that opposed the war on Gaza, such as Spain).