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SvennoJ on 15 March 2024
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No freedom of movement, Westbank and East Jerusalem are supposed to be connected

Israeli checkpoints, restrictions block West Bank travelers from reaching Al-Aqsa

It’s relatively calm outside Al-Aqsa Mosque. It’s several hours until the main prayers will begin. The Israeli authorities say there are 3,000 police officers available in the Old City for days such as this. We passed several checkpoints manned by Israeli police getting here.

Theoretically, there are no restrictions on people from occupied East Jerusalem or Palestinians inside Israel from going inside the mosque to pray. However, there are age restrictions for those travelling from the occupied West Bank. On top of that, those Palestinians must apply in advance for permits to come here. They have to travel through checkpoints early in the morning, and be back in the occupied West Bank by 5pm.

Over the last hour, we’ve been talking to people who have come here from places like Nablus, Bethlehem and Jenin. They’ve told us that many other people trying to cross checkpoints from the occupied West Bank are either being delayed for long periods or turned away.


‘Thousands’ of Palestinian worshippers being denied access to Al-Aqsa: Report

Footage posted by the Wafa news agency shows Palestinians lined up at a military checkpoint near Bethlehem as they seek to travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for Friday prayers.

This is one of numerous military checkpoints set up to screen Palestinians seeking entry to Jerusalem. So far, checkpoint officials have turned back thousands of worshippers “under the pretext of not having the necessary permits”, the Palestinian news agency said.




Nineteen eighty four

‘Tense situation’ at West Bank checkpoint ahead of Friday prayers

About 45 minutes before prayers start, people waiting here at the checkpoint outside Jerusalem still hope they will have a chance to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque. There are new restrictions. Men must be aged 55 or older to enter the mosque, and women must be 50 or older. Previously, there were no age restrictions on women, and the age restriction for men was 45.

All worshippers must also have valid entry permits, a document many Palestinians say they did not know they needed. We’ve seen people being turned away at the checkpoint for this reason, and Israeli soldiers are surrounding the nearby area.

There are additional restrictions on Palestinians leaving Al-Aqsa. They must submit their papers at a checkpoint while leaving Jerusalem or even take a selfie and submit it on an application managed by the Israeli government.


‘All we want is to pray in our Al-Aqsa Mosque’

Palestinian worshippers trying to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan say the Israeli army is turning them away. “I’ve been sent away several times. Each time, they check our documents as if we’re terrorists,” one person who did not wish to be identified told Al Jazeera. “All we want is to pray in our Al-Aqsa Mosque. It’s the Friday prayer. May Allah grant us patience to face all that we have to endure.”

“The number of soldiers is greater than the number of worshippers,” another Muslim said. “I’m 62, and I presented my ID, but my access was denied… although [the Israeli army] said that those who are over 55 can enter the mosque without a permit.”

A 50-year-old woman said she tried to enter the compound but was sent away because she didn’t have a permit. “We tried to enter from the other gate, but they sent us away as well. We will see if we can get a permit,“ he said.


Israel’s Ben-Gvir visits Western Wall

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has shown up at the Western Wall, part of the border of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, ahead of the first Friday prayers of Ramadan. In a post on X, Ben-Gvir said he made the visit to show support for Israeli security forces based there and to encourage them to “deal strongly” with potential “terrorists” and “unrest”.

Ben-Gvir’s visit comes as Israeli checkpoints block thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank from reaching the mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam, inflaming tensions in the territory, reports the Wafa news agency.


Netanyahu accused of ‘deceiving the world’ over Al-Aqsa Mosque access

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has accused Netanyahu of “deceiving the world” when he said no additional measures would be imposed to limit access to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan compared to previous years.

The ministry said in a statement posted on X that the Israel prime minister had given far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir the freedom to implement restrictions, including erecting barricades, to prevent the entry of Palestinian worshippers. The ministry called on the international community and the United States to intervene to end these “racist” policies and ensure that the right to worship is upheld.

Israel doesn't even give animal rights to Palestinians, human rights are only for Israelis, as long as you agree with the government.


Vast majority of Palestinians banned from Al-Aqsa Mosque: Barghouti

More than 95 percent of all Palestinians are prohibited from reaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative. “The portion of the community that is allowed is very small – people who are above the age of 55,” he told Al Jazeera from Ramallah, adding that even they had to go through a hard process to enter the holy site.

“First of all, they have to get a special magnetic security card from the Israelis, which takes a lot of time to acquire. Not everybody can get it and many people are deprived from it,” the Palestinian official said. “They also have to get a special permit from the Israelis directly. These complications prevent many people.”

He said the situation was creating more tension “because many people are angry”. “The tension inside the mosque is very high because of the Israeli restrictions, beating of the people and provocations. I expect that there will be trouble, because of all these provocations,” Barghouti concluded.


80,000 pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque: Report

Despite tight Israeli restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, 80,000 worshippers made it to the holy site for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, reports the Quds News Network, citing the Islamic Waqf that manages the mosque compound.

Thousands more Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were denied entry to Jerusalem, where a heavy Israeli security presence surrounds the mosque. Only men over the age of 55 or women over the age of 50 are allowed to enter the mosque, and all must have a valid permit, making the site inaccessible to the vast majority of Palestinians.

Sounds like a lot, however: In the past, as many as 250,000 worshipers have converged on the site on Fridays during Ramadan.

‘Absolute right of all Muslims to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque’: Director

Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Director Omar Kiswani has told Al Jazeera that it is “the absolute right of all Muslims to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque”, whether they live in the occupied Palestinian territories or elsewhere. “There shouldn’t be any permits required to enter the mosque and this is something the occupation needs to understand,” Kiswani said, referring to Israel.

“We see a significant number of soldiers, police, and other law enforcement personnel circulating Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, preventing our brothers from the West Bank from accessing these holy places,” he continued.

“Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship and peace, but it has become like a large prison due to the excessive restrictions and checkpoints being imposed. It even resembles a military camp.”


Israeli troops block PRCS ambulance members’ way to Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says some of its members were turned away by the Israeli army as they attempted to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque to provide emergency services. The group posted a video on X, in which soldiers can be seen blocking the way to the medical staff.




Israel tightens control around Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque

The Israeli army has intensified its military presence near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported increased military presence between Hebron’s Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Army officers at the Abu Al-Rish checkpoint, the site of frequent violence at the heart of historic Hebron, were checking the identity of Palestinians heading to the mosque to perform the Friday prayer, the agency said, turning some worshippers away.

The war has definitely spilled over into the West Bank, reports of Qassam brigade fighting back are increasing

Qassam fighters clash with Israeli troops in Tubas, group says

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, has said its fighters in the Far’a camp in Tubas in the occupied West Bank have confronted Israeli troops and vehicles that stormed the establishment in the morning.

Fighters from the group, backed by others from other factions, “engaged in fierce clashes with the invading forces, including the detonation of a number of explosive devices in the vehicles, before the enemy retreated”, a statement on Telegram said.