Thousands Return to Al-Aqsa Mosque After 40-Day Closure

Thousands Return to Al-Aqsa Mosque After 40-Day Closure

Thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday morning for dawn prayers after Israeli authorities lifted a 40-day closure imposed amid heightened regional security tensions.

The closure, which began on February 28, restricted access to the holy site during a period of intensified conflict involving Israel and Iran-backed groups across the wider Middle East. Worshippers were once again allowed entry, with at least 3,000 people reportedly performing the fajr (dawn) prayer inside the compound.

Israeli police deployed large numbers of officers across Jerusalem’s Old City and surrounding roads leading to the mosque complex, carrying out identity checks and restricting entry for some worshippers. According to Palestinian reports, security personnel also blocked several individuals from accessing the site and forcibly removed some from the compound’s courtyards.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported incidents in which worshippers were assaulted at the gates, while the Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces detained at least one individual inside the mosque compound and denied entry to a well-known activist, Munta Amara, who regularly prays at the site.

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Despite the heavy security presence, worshippers gradually filled the compound for morning prayers. Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, described the site as “longing for visitors” and urged that it remain open to worshippers “at all times,” reflecting frustration over repeated restrictions.

One worshipper, Ibrahim Abu Rmaileh, said the 40-day closure had taken a “heavy toll,” adding that the mosque holds deep religious significance as the place from which Prophet Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven during the Isra and Mi’raj.

Israeli authorities have frequently imposed temporary closures or restricted access to the compound during periods of tension, a practice Palestinians describe as punitive. In previous incidents, similar restrictions have forced worshippers to pray in nearby mosques across Jerusalem instead.

The Al-Aqsa closure also coincided with restrictions on other major religious sites in Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest locations, which was also shut during the same period according to local reports.

This year’s restrictions reportedly prevented Eid al-Fitr prayers from taking place at Al-Aqsa, marking one of the most significant disruptions to religious worship at the site in recent years since Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains one of the most sensitive religious and political flashpoints in the region, with access frequently affected by broader security developments in Israel-Palestinian relations and wider Middle East tensions.

Thousands Return to Al-Aqsa Mosque After 40-Day Closure