Israel is set to severely restrict access to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem ahead of Ramadan.
The restrictions, according to reports in Israeli Public Broadcaster Kan, include the deployment of 3,000 police at checkpoints leading to East Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Kan also reported that Israeli authorities will block recently-released Palestinian detainees from the site.
Likewise, Israeli broadcaster N12Â reported that a maximum of 10,000 people will be permitted entry into the compound for Friday prayers, although entrance is conditional on prior requests being approved.
Both outlets report that only men aged over 55 and women over 50 will be allowed entry into the site, although N12 reports that children under 12 will also be granted access to the compound.
Usually, tens of thousands of Palestinians visit the al-Aqsa compound for prayers across the holy month of Ramadan.
Additionally, the police will not allow Palestinians released from prison as part of captive exchanges linked to the ceasefire in Gaza to enter the compound.
Sources speaking to Israeli broadcaster N12 said that they expected “the volatility of Ramadan will largely depend on the situation in Gaza”.
“If there is a ceasefire, it is expected that the situation will remain calm, but if not – security forces will be deployed in much larger numbers in anticipation of possible escalation,” the source was quoted as saying by Jerusalem Post.
The holy month of Ramadan and the centrality of the al-Aqsa compound has increasingly become a flashpoint for the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Israel has laid restrictions on entry into the compound and conducted raids on the site during the religious month, which has sparked bouts of conflict.Â
This includes in 2021, when Israeli forces stormed the mosque and attacked worshipers, triggering a round of conflict lasting 10 days between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip as well as protests across the occupied West Bank and clashes between Israeli Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel within the country.
In both 2022 and 2023 Israeli forces raided the site, attacking worshipers and using tear gas on the grounds. The raids in 2023 also saw rockets fired from Gaza into Israel as a result.
In 2024 during Israel’s war on Gaza, Israel placed restrictions only allowing Palestinian men over the age of 60 and women over 55 entrance into the mosque.
The site, which is composed of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is the third holiest in Islam.
In recent years the status of the site has become more contentious as far-right Israeli’s have sought to claim the site for Jews, an initiative contentious within Judaism itself.
These have been led by former Israeli National Security and leader of Otzma Yehudit Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has led the storming of the site and also prayed on it.
