Closing Al-Aqsa and Ibrahimi Mosques: A Systematic Policy to Impose New Realities on the Ground

Sheikh Muhammad Hussein: Al-Aqsa and Ibrahimi Mosques are among the holiest Islamic mosques, and we demand that the occupation authorities open them to worshippers. Hatem Abdel Qader: The closure of Al-Aqsa and Ibrahimi Mosques is a dangerous escalation and a systematic policy to impose new realities on the ground. Aziz Al-Assa: Israeli claims are baseless and false, and what the occupation is doing is part of a plan to control Al-Aqsa and Ibrahimi Mosques. Dr. Muhammad Jadallah: The occupation government seeks to impose its vision on holy places, benefiting from the imbalance of power in its favor. Mazen Al-Jaabari: The real danger lies in Israel's and the Temple groups' move to transform daily security control into long-term realities. Imad Abu Awwad: Israeli planning regarding the Ibrahimi Mosque has moved from the planning stage to the implementation stage in some aspects. Exclusive to Al-Quds - At a time when Palestinians are supposed to flock to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque during the blessed month of Ramadan, the occupation authorities continue to close them to worshippers, under false and baseless pretexts, which has sparked a state of resentment and anger in religious and popular circles. Religious scholars and specialists in Jerusalem and Hebron affairs warn that the continuation of these measures represents a clear violation of freedom of worship and reflects a continuous Israeli policy aimed at imposing increasing restrictions on access to Islamic holy sites, especially during religious seasons that witness a wide presence of worshippers, in a desperate Israeli attempt to transform daily security control into new realities on the ground. Prominent Religious and Historical Status The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, says: Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque are among the holiest Islamic mosques, and they have a great status in the hearts of Muslims. He adds: We demand that the Israeli authorities open these mosques to worshippers, especially during the blessed month of Ramadan, despite the difficult conditions in the region, due to the spiritual and devotional specificity of this month. The Mufti of Jerusalem stresses the need for Al-Aqsa, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the houses of God to remain open to Muslim worshippers, especially in this holy month in which Muslims are keen to perform acts of worship and prayers, including Taraweeh and Friday prayers, in special spiritual atmospheres. Sheikh Hussein believes that the closure of these mosques deprives worshippers of special spiritual atmospheres with which they are associated, and they feel a deficiency in their devotional experience during the blessed month of Ramadan. These two mosques have permanent visitors who are keen to travel to them, especially in Ramadan, due to their great religious and historical status. A Blatant Violation of Freedom of Worship The Secretary-General of the Islamic-Christian Commission for the Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites, Hatem Abdel Qader, considers the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque a dangerous step and a blatant violation of freedom of worship and an assault on the right of Muslims to access their holy places, especially during the blessed month of Ramadan, during which hundreds of thousands of worshippers flock to Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers and revive religious rituals. Abdel Qader adds that the closure of Al-Aqsa and the Ibrahimi Mosque comes within a systematic policy aimed at restricting worship and imposing new realities on the ground, rejecting Israeli pretexts that claim the closure was for security reasons. Abdel Qader considered these arguments a repeated justification for violations against both Islamic and Christian holy sites. Abdel Qader affirms that the decision to close Al-Aqsa Mosque constitutes a blatant interference in the powers of the Islamic Endowments, which has administrative and legal authority, and an attempt to undermine the historical and legal Hashemite guardianship over the Holy Sanctuary, which constitutes a serious violation of the status quo in Islamic and Christian holy sites. Abdel Qader calls on the international community and UN institutions to work to stop these violations targeting holy sites and freedom of worship, warning that the continuation of these arbitrary measures may lead to an escalation of tension in the Holy City. A Racist View of Jerusalemites and Palestinians Inside The writer and researcher interested in Jerusalem affairs, Aziz Al-Assa, says: There is no doubt that what happened at dawn on Saturday, February 28 of this year (2026), an attack on the Iranian state, is a pivotal event at the level of the Middle East in particular, and at the global level in general. Al-Assa confirms that the occupation state, which has become vulnerable to Iranian missiles, has taken many measures related to its residents, for whom it provides all means of protection and care, and shelters equipped with all the requirements for comfortable living, enjoying leisure time, and dedicating mechanisms for immediate intervention and rescue for any harm that befalls them, individually and collectively. He adds: The Palestinians inside and the Jerusalemites, who live within the state's borders, have no one to mourn them, and they have no escape from the security and precautionary measures taken by the various occupation agencies. The right-wing government, through the statements of its ministers, views them as hostile human blocs spread within the state, considering them not Israeli in terms of belonging, feelings, or emotions. Al-Assa believes that the decision of the Israeli Home Front to close Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslim worshippers during these days of the blessed month of Ramadan, under security pretexts, can only be classified under the title of "a word of truth intended for falsehood," because there are many daily service institutions that are not subject to closure in such a case, such as places of worship, bakeries, hospitals and clinics, pharmacies, and many other institutions related to people's daily lives, and the state does not usually close them. Al-Assa considers the security claims for closing Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to be baseless and false, not out of concern for the safety and security of Muslims, but rather as part of a plan being prepared in the dark of night to control them. Maximum Speed in Implementing the Decision Al-Assa says that what indicates this is the maximum speed in implementing the decision to forcibly and coercively remove hundreds of worshippers from Jerusalemites and those who arrived from the Palestinian interior. In addition, the employees of the Endowments who belong to the Jordanian state were removed, and the matter ended with the complete closure of the mosque's doors. The arbitrary measures of the occupation expanded to include the closure of commercial shops surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Assa pointed to the abuse and aggression by the occupation agencies, and the infringement on the rights of the mosque's administration and the right to worship in it, and the blatant assault on those rights, which cannot be justified by the alleged security situation, but rather its goal is to control the place and remove it from the control of the Endowments and the Jordanian state, which imposes a new "status quo" that grants the occupation authorities the right to close Al-Aqsa Mosque whenever they want, however they want, and under any pretext they invent at any time, with the aim of tampering with its identity and Judaizing it - partially or completely. Al-Assa adds: Perhaps the peak of the danger is that the occupation forces that carry out these actions are directed by "Ben Gvir," the Minister of Security in the occupation government, who is the engineer and patron of the incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, which are carried out under his personal leadership and programmed by the occupation police. Call for Jordan to Intervene Al-Assa called on the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which has the internationally guaranteed right of "Hashemite guardianship" over the holy sites in Jerusalem - Islamic and Christian - to intervene at the international level to lift the siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque and allow Muslims to perform religious rituals in it, who are not deterred by war or missiles, due to their belief in God's decree and destiny, and that there is no repeller of God's decree, in whose hand are the keys to the unseen, as Almighty God says: "And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." (Surah Luqman, verse: 34). Aggressive Plans Towards Holy Sites Political analyst Dr. Muhammad Jadallah believes that Israel has continuous plans towards holy sites, whether in Jerusalem, Hebron, or any part of historical Palestine. Jadallah explains that in light of the current situation and the expanding, extended, and multiple wars, a state of negligence emerges in the Arab and Islamic realities, which Israel benefits from to achieve its goals. He points out that Israel seeks, as it always declares, to impose its vision on these holy places at the expense of Islamic landmarks, benefiting from the imbalance of power in its favor, which may push it to take harsh measures, whether by imposing more control or even harming some of these holy sites. Political analyst Jadallah adds that while the world is preoccupied with major issues, such measures may pass without effective Arab or Islamic reactions. In contrast, he affirms that Palestinians have proven throughout their history that they defend Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque and cling to them, and are willing to sacrifice for them. The Current Stage Represents a Crossroads Jadallah believes that the current stage represents a crossroads that may bring losses related to holy sites, but the presence of the Palestinian people and their high readiness to defend them may surprise the world and prevent any attempts to impose new realities or harm these holy places. Jadallah concludes his speech by explaining that this closure leaves a profound impact on the souls of worshippers, as many of them feel a deficiency in their worship and devotional activity when they are deprived of access to Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Ibrahimi Mosque, due to the special religious status of these two mosques, and their close connection with their permanent visitors, especially during the blessed month of Ramadan. Leaving the Endowments Administration Facing a Forced Reality The writer and researcher in Israeli affairs, Mazen Al-Jaabari, says that the occupation authorities are trying to present the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque as a "preventive measure" related to the war and the instructions of the "Home Front" and preventing gatherings, and present it as a security matter only: removing worshippers, closing doors, and then leaving the Endowments administration facing a forced reality until further notice. Al-Jaabari confirms that this justification, as it appears in Israeli narratives, aims to show the closure as a neutral technical step, while events show that it is used to entrench the idea that opening and closing the two mosques is a sovereign Israeli decision that has nothing to do with Islamic parties. Al-Jaabari points out that in recent years, the model of closure or "forced evacuation" of Al-Aqsa has been repeated at important junctures: the Bab Al-Asbat uprising in 2017 when the occupation tried to impose new security arrangements at the gates, then the Corona closure in March 2020 by decision of the Endowments due to the pandemic, leading to the closure during the June 2025 war, and then the current closure with the outbreak of the war on February 28, 2026. In other words, closure is no longer an exceptional rare event, but an Israeli tool used in every crisis to redefine the sovereign power within Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, Al-Jaabari warns that the real danger is not only in the pretext of war, but in the cumulative context that preceded and accompanied Ramadan, where Israel and the Temple groups are moving towards a clear goal, which is to transform daily security control into long-term political and religious realities. He says that before Ramadan 2026, Al-Aqsa witnessed a wave of widespread expulsion decisions affecting hundreds of Jerusalemites, in addition to the expulsion of imams and preachers, and tightening restrictions on the entry of Ramadan needs, including Iftar meals and Endowments preparations. In the field, the morning incursion period for settlers increased by an additional hour during Ramadan, in a step considered a deepening of temporal division and an expansion of the Jewish area and period within the Sanctuary. Al-Jaabari adds that at the legislative level, legal paths are advancing to expand the concept of "holy places," which opens the door to subjecting Al-Aqsa to an Israeli rabbinical religious authority. He points out that this series does not seem to be separate measures; it is an integrated pressure group: expulsion, arrests, reduction of Endowments powers, and expansion of the presence of Temple groups in the courtyards. Al-Jaabari believes that the continuation of the current situation, where the Israeli police hold the keys to entry and exit, and the courtyards are transformed into a public space managed securely according to estimates and justifications, will lead to the gradual normalization of the idea of Israeli sovereignty over Al-Aqsa administratively and securely, and then gradually transfer that to the level of an Islamic and Jewish religious site. Here specifically, the model of the Ibrahimi Mosque after 1994 appears, for after the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, a spatial and temporal division was imposed, Muslim access was reduced, and the mosque was closed to them on Jewish holidays, and security control became a permanent system until today. Al-Jaabari affirms that this similarity is a behavior of religious and security colonialism that tests the limits of what is possible in Al-Aqsa: reducing the powers of the Islamic Endowments Department, establishing security control, and then forcibly normalizing that the place has become shared by Jews and Muslims. Therefore, if the current cumulative situation continues, Israel will religiously, securely, and administratively control Al-Aqsa Mosque and abolish its pure Islamic religious identity. Israel Imposes Actual Control Over the Ibrahimi Mosque The analyst specializing in Israeli affairs, Imad Abu Awwad, believes that Israeli planning regarding the Ibrahimi Mosque has moved from the planning stage to the implementation stage in some aspects. Abu Awwad believes that Israel is imposing actual control over the Ibrahimi Mosque and increasingly linking it to a Jewish religious administration, which raises concerns about expanding the scope of control or reducing the prayer space available to Palestinians. Abu Awwad points out that Israeli policies towards Al-Aqsa Mosque have gradually evolved through different stages, starting from imposing restrictions on Palestinian access, through increasing the number of intruders, and reaching allowing prayers inside its courtyards at certain times. Abu Awwad also refers to discussions about the possibility of building a Jewish synagogue inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, benefiting from the world's preoccupation with multiple international and regional issues. The analyst Abu Awwad concludes his speech by saying that this global preoccupation may create a space that Israel may exploit to strengthen its actual control over Al-Aqsa Mosque, including discussions about possibilities related to changing some of its features or imposing new realities, while warning against any measures that may lead to changing the status quo in it.