The Israeli authorities said that they will allow 10,000 Palestinians weekly to perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, which began on Wednesday, imposing restrictions on the people who will be allowed to enter the Holy Mosque. The authorities will allow entry to men aged 55 years and above, women aged 50 years and above, and children up to the age of 12 years.
Published on: 02/18/2026 - 16:25
Israel decided to allow ten thousand Palestinians weekly to perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, which began on Wednesday.
The Coordination of Government Activities Unit (COGAT), a body affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Defense that administers civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, reported that “ten thousand Palestinian worshipers will be allowed to enter the Temple Mount to perform Friday prayers throughout the month of Ramadan, provided that a special daily permit is obtained in advance.”
She explained: “Men over the age of 55, women over the age of 50, and children up to the age of 12 will be allowed to enter when accompanied by a first-degree relative.”
The Temple Mount, which is usually visited by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during Ramadan, is located in East Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Hebrew state in 1967.
Read also: Wednesday is the first day of Ramadan in France and in a number of Arab countries
Security restrictions in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa
This week, Israel tightened its restrictions around Al-Aqsa, according to what the Islamic Endowments Department supervising it and the Jerusalem Governorate of the Palestinian Authority reported.
An official in the Endowments Department explained that the Israeli authorities prevented “equipping clinics and medical teams and setting up umbrellas... There are no facilities at all,” and that the police “threatened to prevent the entry of breakfast and suhoor meals” during the month of Ramadan.
One of the mosque's most prominent imams and a Sharia judge also confirmed on Tuesday that they had received a decision from the Israeli police requiring their deportation from the sanctuary.
On the other hand, an Israeli police official confirmed that its officers will be deployed around the Temple Mount “day and night” during Ramadan.
Under the status quo after the occupation of East Jerusalem, non-Muslims can visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque campus at specific times without praying in it, which is something that ultra-Orthodox Jews disagree with. Palestinians and Muslims consider these visits a provocation.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining the status quo, but Palestinians fear it is being undermined.
France 24/AFP
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