JERUSALEN: A senior imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem said Tuesday that Israeli authorities have barred him from entering the compound, just days before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. &quot;I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed,&quot; Sheikh Muhammad al Abbasi told AFP. He said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect from Monday. &quot;I had only returned to Al Aqsa a month ago after spending a year in the hospital following a serious car accident,&quot; Abbasi said. &quot;This ban is a grave matter for us, as our soul is tied to Al Aqsa. Al Aqsa is our life.&quot; The month of Ramadan, during which Muslims observe a fast from dawn to dusk, is expected to begin this week. During the holy month, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al Aqsa &ndash; Islam&#39;s third holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed. On Monday, Israeli police said they had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem. Police did not specify whether age restrictions would apply. The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate however said it had been informed that permits would again be limited to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year&#39;s criteria. It added that Israeli authorities had prevented the Islamic Waqf &ndash; the Jordanian run body that administers the site &ndash; from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics. A Waqf source said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week leading up to Ramadan. Under long standing arrangements, Jews may visit the Al Aqsa compound &ndash; &nbsp;which they revere as the site of the first and second Jewish temples &ndash; but they are not permitted to pray there. Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded. In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.

Muslim worshippers walk next to the Dome of the Rock mosque at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on October 17, 2025. (AFP)

Middle East

On Monday, Israeli police said they had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.

Al-Aqsa imam says Israel barring him from entering mosque ahead of Ramadan

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned what it called escalating Israeli violations in the occupied West Bank, including the &ldquo;storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque,&rdquo; warning that the actions breach international law and endanger regional stability.&nbsp;In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli forces and extremist settlers were committing &ldquo;clear violations&rdquo; of international law and relevant UN resolutions. It stressed that &ldquo;the sanctity of all holy sites must be upheld&rdquo; in line with global norms and the &ldquo;recognized historical status&rdquo; of the area.&nbsp;The ministry urged the international community to take &ldquo;effective and immediate measures&rdquo; to halt settler violence, prevent further provocations, and ensure full adherence to UN decisions.&nbsp;Reaffirming Islamabad&rsquo;s long-standing stance, the statement said Pakistan supports a two-state solution that leads to a sovereign and independent Palestinian state, based on pre-1967 borders, &ldquo;with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.&rdquo;

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan condemned escalating Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque raid, calling them violations of international law. Pakistan urged global intervention and reaffirmed support for a two-state solution.

Pakistan condemns Israeli actions, demands protection of Palestinian holy sites

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia condemned on Wednesday a visit by Israel&#39;s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa compound, a disputed area in occupied east Jerusalem home to Islam&#39;s third-holiest site that is also Judaism&#39;s holiest place. Riyadh voiced its &quot;condemnation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli officials and settlers under the protection of the occupation forces, reiterating its strongest condemnation of the continued attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque,&quot; the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa compound, calling it a provocative “storming” under military protection and denouncing repeated Israeli violations against the sanctity of Islam’s third-holiest site.

Articles tagged with "Al-Aqsa Mosque"

Al-Aqsa imam says Israel barring him from entering mosque ahead of Ramadan

Pakistan condemns Israeli actions, demands protection of Palestinian holy sites

Saudi Arabia condemns far-right Israeli minister's 'storming' of Al-Aqsa compound