Palestinian Territory – The increase in Israeli restrictive measures on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque before Ramadan seeks to limit Palestinians' freedom of worship in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This involves expanding expulsions from the mosque, implementing discriminatory access restrictions, and weakening the Islamic Waqf Department's capacity to manage it and organise Ramadan activities.
The announcement by the Israeli army spokesperson about a large-scale operation across the West Bank called 'combating incitement', supposedly to "enhance stability during Ramadan," is deeply concerning.
The operation is used in practice to broaden the prosecution of digital expression through vague, broadly defined standards applied discriminatorily. This leads to the criminalisation of Palestinian content that is national and political in nature. Meanwhile, incitement and explicit hate speech from settlers and extremist Israeli groups are often met with leniency, frequently resulting in actual attacks without proper accountability or punishment.
This campaign coincides with a surge in expulsion orders from Al-Aqsa Mosque, issued just days before Ramadan. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has received numerous recent reports about the expulsion of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and Israel, with orders lasting up to six months.
Since the start of 2026, more than 250 expulsion orders have been issued, according to data from the Jerusalem Governorate. This shows a consistent increase in using expulsion as a means to diminish the Palestinian presence at the mosque, especially during religious seasons.
Restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa go beyond expulsion orders; they also hinder the Islamic Waqf Department's administrative role. This includes preventing the department from carrying out its regular logistical tasks during Ramadan, such as managing entry and exit, emergency medical services, and crowd control within the mosque compound. These actions undermine the religious authority's ability to perform its duties independently.
The Israeli authorities have expelled around 25 Waqf employees and detained four more, in a further effort to undermine the Department's capacity to manage the mosque during Ramadan and to establish a management vacuum.
The Israeli plan for Ramadan involves severe restrictions on Palestinian entry into Jerusalem from West Bank governorates, especially on Fridays. The limit is set at no more than 10,000 worshippers, with age-based conditions permitting only men over 55 and women over 50 to enter, pending prior approval. These policies institutionalise discrimination based on age and location, and they undermine the right to unrestricted access to places of worship.
Alongside restrictions on Muslims, extremist Israeli groups persist in advocating for increased incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and longer visiting durations. This is part of a clear political and religious campaign to establish Israeli 'sovereignty' and modify the site's management. Their efforts threaten the historical and administrative status quo by imposing unilateral control, which undermines worship freedom and the Islamic administration of the mosque.
The announcement followed a letter from multiple Temple organisations to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for "Israeli sovereignty and freedom of worship for Jews in Temple Mount" during Ramadan. Meanwhile, Israeli police postponed deciding on incursions in the final ten days of Ramadan, waiting to see reactions to the measures planned earlier in the month.
All these measures constitute a new phase in a systematic policy aimed at minimising the Palestinian presence at Al-Aqsa and limiting religious practices. This sets the stage for a gradual change to the status quo, in violation of the occupying power's obligations to respect and safeguard the religious lives of the population under occupation and not to hinder their religious activities or the administration of their religious institutions.
East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is part of Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. Israel, as the occupying power, has no sovereignty there and does not gain any right through occupation to change its legal, demographic, or administrative status.
Ending these violations fundamentally depends on Israel fulfilling its duties as an occupying power. This includes ending the occupation, withdrawing from all occupied Palestinian areas such as East Jerusalem, and stopping unilateral actions that aim to solidify annexation, change geography, and limit Palestinian presence.
Denying Palestinians from the West Bank access to Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, should not be seen as temporary regulatory actions. Instead, they are part of a long-term structural policy rooted in segregation and spatial fragmentation. This policy manipulates movement, residence, and identity to isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian context, turning access to the city and its holy sites into a privilege controlled by permits and discriminatory standards.
Euro-Med Monitor emphasises that this system not only limits the freedom of worship but also exacerbates the division within Palestinian society and threatens its basic rights. It is used to alter Jerusalem's demographic and political landscape, isolating it from the West Bank to serve annexation efforts and enforce facts on the ground.
The restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan must be lifted immediately. This includes removing age limits and abolishing the permit system that turns worship into a privileged and selective activity. Such measures fragment families and prevent many Palestinians, especially youth, from exercising their right to pray freely, without military or administrative barriers.
Furthermore, the expulsion orders issued against Islamic Waqf employees, mosque guards, and worshippers must be revoked. These orders should not be used as a means to bar people from Al-Aqsa or weaken its Palestinian presence. Such measures represent clear interference in religious management and directly challenge the Islamic Waqf's authority and its role in overseeing mosque activities during religious seasons.
Euro-Med Monitor calls for an urgent international fact-finding mission to oversee restrictions on worship in Jerusalem during Ramadan, utilising Human Rights Council mechanisms. The mission should ensure independent on-the-ground documentation of violations and provide immediate recommendations to prevent escalation and the recurrence of discriminatory restrictions.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should take a clear stance on measures targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque that seek to modify its features and undermine its human and administrative essence. Given its location in the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, which are designated as a World Heritage site, UNESCO must activate its protective mechanisms to safeguard the site from any unilateral actions that could impact its historical, religious, and legal significance.
The Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief and the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory should jointly issue a statement condemning the discriminatory restrictions placed on Palestinians based on age, legal status, and location. They should also affirm that isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings and restricting access to places of worship through broad security measures are illegitimate.
Additionally, Euro-Med Monitor urges an independent investigation into the increase in what it described as "digital arrests" and the use of surveillance tools and AI technologies to target Palestinians expressing their views. The expanding prosecution in digital spaces breaches privacy and freedom of expression and is used discriminatorily to silence and criminalise the Palestinian voice.
Euro-Med Monitor urges social media platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and X to resist compliance with removal and blocking requests from Israeli authorities that target Palestinian historical, religious, or human rights content under the guise of "incitement". These platforms should establish transparent, consistent standards that uphold free expression and avoid being complicit in erasing or selectively restricting Palestinian content.
Effective international action, especially from states parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, is vital to pressure Israel, as an occupying power, to fulfil its duties in protecting civilians and ensuring their safe access to worship sites without military barriers or unfair administrative restrictions. It is also essential to stop any unilateral moves intended to alter the status quo in Jerusalem or create a de facto situation.
