Police keep mosque doors closed, deploy forces in Old City citing Iran war ’emergency measures’
Palestinians perform Friday prayers on the streets of East Jerusalem on March 27, 2026 as Israeli forces continue to impose restrictions on Palestinians from entering the Dome of the Rock at Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. PHOTO: ANADOLU
Israeli authorities continued to ban Muslims from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest mosque, for the fourth consecutive week, keeping the site closed since late February under emergency measures linked to the war with Iran.
Israeli police kept the doors of the mosque closed and deployed forces throughout Jerusalem’s Old City to prevent worshipers from entering the premises.
Authorities closed the site after the war began, citing directives from the Home Front Command that prohibited large gatherings. Since then, prayers at the mosque have been restricted only to guards and members of the Islamic Waqf, which oversees the site. Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s most important holy sites.
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The witnesses said anadolu that the police prevented Palestinians from praying in the streets near the walls of the Old City, including Salah al-Din Street.
Appeals had circulated in Jerusalem urging worshipers to pray as close as possible to Al-Aqsa due to its continued closure. Instead, Palestinians have been praying in smaller mosques across the city.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli government extended the state of emergency until mid-April, although it was unclear whether the mosque would remain closed until then.
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Israel closed Al-Aqsa after the start of its war with Iran on February 28, citing security concerns, while Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks against Israel and what it describes as US interests in the region.
Authorities also prevented Eidul Fitr prayers at the site this year for the first time since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Despite condemnations from Arab and Muslim countries, Israeli authorities have refused to reopen the mosque. Worshipers in East Jerusalem said the closure was unjustified and politically motivated.
