Israel limits Al-Aqsa Friday prayers to 10,000 West Bank Palestinians with permits during Ramadan

2026-02-18 - 11:32

Israeli authorities have approved restrictions limiting Palestinian worshippers from the West Bank attending Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan to 10,000 individuals requiring prior permits, the military agency COGAT announced Wednesday. The decision follows a security assessment by the political leadership, marking an annual intensification of access restrictions at the holy site. Age and Permit Requirements According to COGAT's statement, entry will be permitted for men aged 55 and older, women aged 50 and older, and children up to age 12 accompanied by first-degree relatives—all requiring "a prior daily permit designated for each Friday prayer." The measures reflect Israel's expanded security posture in occupied East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month, which began Wednesday. Settler Incursions to Continue Separately, illegal settler groups announced on social media their intention to stage daily incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound during Ramadan, except Fridays and Saturdays, for five hours daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. local time. Entries will stop after noon prayer and during the last 10 days of Ramadan. Settler entries into the compound began in 2003 under Israeli police authorization, despite repeated protests by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. Broader West Bank Escalation Israel has raised its security alert level across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for Ramadan. In recent weeks, authorities have increased arrests and issued expulsion orders in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian rights organization reported. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as capital of a future state, citing international resolutions rejecting Israel's 1967 occupation and 1980 annexation. Since the Gaza war began Oct. 8, 2023, Israeli military and settler operations across the West Bank have intensified, involving killings, home demolitions, displacement, and settlement expansion.