For more than two years, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri has been barred from occupied East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, unable to pray or deliver sermons at the holy site.
And with his latest exclusion order extending the ban until April ۲۰۲۷, the Palestinian preacher – the head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem – is among those facing Israeli restrictions at the site – the third holiest in Islam and a Palestinian national symbol.
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Sabri has faced repeated exclusion orders since August ۲۰۲۴. The latest order, issued on October ۲۰, prevents Sabri from praying or delivering sermons at Al-Aqsa until April ۲۰۲۷.
At the same time, far-right Jewish religious activists have increasingly been allowed to pray at the site under Israeli police protection, going against a longstanding status quo and opposition from ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious authorities.
The restrictions began after Israeli police detained Sabri in August ۲۰۲۴ over a sermon in which he mourned the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel.
Sabri, one of the most prominent Palestinians in East Jerusalem, has faced repeated Israeli interrogations.
Palestinians say this is part of a campaign against them at Al-Aqsa. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Palestinian human rights monitoring group, says Israeli authorities have issued more than ۱,۰۰۰ exclusion orders barring Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City since the beginning of ۲۰۲۶, including against religious figures and Islamic Waqf employees.
The centre reported an increase in exclusion orders ahead of Jewish holidays, documenting more than ۴۰ issued over five days in early September.
Sabri told Al Jazeera that the latest extension was the fifth time Israeli authorities have issued an exclusion order against him.
He described the decision as unjust, illegal, inhumane and uncivilised, saying it was intended to silence those speaking out about Al-Aqsa.
Sabri said that he would continue defending Al-Aqsa despite the restrictions, describing the mosque as an integral part of his Islamic faith.
“These measures are aimed at diminishing the Palestinian presence at the mosque, while simultaneously allowing settlers to carry out incursions in large numbers,” Sabri said. “Such actions represent an aggressive policy targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic presence within it.”
Prohibited activities
Ibrahim al-Natsheh was released by Israeli police earlier this month after spending a week in detention after he was arrested while attending funeral prayers for his cousin at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He told Al Jazeera that officers took him to a police room and handed him a six-month exclusion order barring him from East Jerusalem’s Old City. He said no specific charge was brought against him.
According to al-Natsheh, the order warns that he could face arrest and further penalties, including a fine or imprisonment, if he enters the prohibited area.
Al-Natsheh said he has received so many exclusion orders that he has lost count. He said the restrictions began about nine years ago, following an Israeli crackdown on Islamic study circles at the mosque.
Palestinian students, teachers and activists associated with the activities have faced arrests and exclusion orders.
“The orders banning us from the mosque provide no specific reason; they simply cite ‘disturbing the peace’, even though we are there solely to pray,” al-Natsheh told Al Jazeera. “Ahead of the Jewish holidays, they sent a message to me and a group of other worshippers, warning us not to approach the mosque or else we will be arrested.”
Even when he is not subject to a formal exclusion order, al-Natsheh said, Israeli police have prevented him from entering Al-Aqsa. He also alleged that officers have repeatedly arrested him at Al-Aqsa’s gates and severely beaten him while in detention.
“The path to the mosque has become incredibly difficult; it is swarming with soldiers and settlers,” he said. “We are denied the ability to reach it with any ease, and if we try, we face arrest and beatings with batons. It is deeply painful to witness what is happening to Al-Aqsa now.”
Al Jazeera has reached out to Israeli authorities for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
Diminishing Waqf role
Al-Aqsa Mosque has seen an escalation in Israeli restrictions and violations throughout ۲۰۲۶.
After the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February ۲۸, Israeli authorities closed Al-Aqsa to most worshippers for ۴۰ days, reopening the compound on April ۹.
Meanwhile, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate, almost ۲۸,۰۰۰ visits by Israeli settlers were recorded at Al-Aqsa between July and September.
Ma’rouf al-Rifai, an adviser to the Jerusalem Governorate, told Al Jazeera that during recent Jewish holidays, Israeli restrictions on Muslim worshippers had intensified.
These measures included closing the mosque for periods of time, preventing noon prayers on at least one occasion, and restricting access for residents of the Old City during visits to the site by Israeli settlers and Jewish religious activists.
Al-Rifai said the Islamic Waqf Department faces mounting constraints on its role in managing the mosque’s affairs.
He said Israeli police have prevented Waqf officials from accompanying Jewish groups when they entered the site, curtailed the authority of mosque guards, and arrested or barred several employees from the compound.
As a result, he said, fewer than ۱۵ guards are now on duty during the morning shift, compared with approximately ۵۰ previously.
He pointed out that the closure of the mosque for ۴۰ days during the war with Iran took place without consulting the Waqf or providing prior notification, which he said demonstrated the Waqf’s diminishing role in the mosque’s administration.
“Settler incursions have undergone a shift over the past three years; they now include Jewish prayers and religious rituals, the raising of Israeli flags, and attempts to bring in sacrificial offerings,” al-Rifai said.
These changes have undermined longstanding arrangements at the compound, under which the Waqf manages Muslim religious affairs while Israeli police oversee security and access.
According to al-Rifai, Israeli authorities have prevented the Waqf from carrying out restoration work at the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall and restricted maintenance of the compound’s trees and gardens. He said the committee responsible for restoration work at Al-Aqsa has been unable to carry out its duties for years.
He warned of efforts to alter the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, pointing to several proposals and developments, including demands to allow Jewish visitors into the compound on Saturdays, plans advanced by Israeli politicians to divide access to parts of the site between Muslims and Jews, and an Israeli police recruitment drive for volunteers tasked with escorting Israeli incursions at the site.
Al-Rifai said these developments represented a further erosion of the Waqf’s authority and warned that they could eventually transform the arrangements governing worship and access at the holy site.
