Israel blocks access to Al-Aqsa mosque after Iran strike

Middle East Eye

18 hours ago

Israel has completely blocked access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Local sources told the Palestinian Wafa news agency that Israeli forces stormed the mosque after dawn prayers on Friday to clear the area of any worshippers.
The Israeli military then sealed the doors to Al-Aqsa and banned worshippers from entering the mosque before sealing its gates, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to Wafa.
This shutdown means Muslim worshippers will be unable to conduct Friday prayers at the mosque, revered as the third holiest site in Islam.
The closure comes as Israel issues a complete lockdown across the occupied West Bank following the wave of attacks it launched on Iran.
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Earlier on Friday, Wafa reported that Israel had closed dozens of military checkpoints and gates across the West Bank, blocking several secondary roads between Palestinian towns, villages and cities with dirt mounds.
Al-Aqsa: Israeli incursions have increased by more than 18,000 percent since 2003 Read More »
The Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, and the only exit point for most Palestinians in the West Bank to travel abroad, was also shut down by Israeli authorities on Friday.
Al-Aqsa, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, has long been a source of tension resulting from frequent raids by Israeli settler groups, backed by Israeli troops, into the complex, which is reserved for Muslim prayer under a longstanding agreement.
Far-right Israeli groups have increasingly pushed for access and control over the site, which is known to Jews as Temple Mount, a move Palestinians view as part of a wider campaign to alter the status quo and assert Israeli sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem.
Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied territory, and the closure of a major religious site raises serious concerns over violations of Palestinians' rights to worship and freedom of movement.
Human rights groups have long condemned the use of mosque closures as a form of collective punishment and political pressure.