Police keep mosque doors closed, deploy forces in Old City citing ’emergency measures’ linked to Iran war
Palestinians perform Friday prayers on the streets of East Jerusalem on March 27, 2026 as Israeli forces continue to impose restrictions on Palestinians entering the Dome of the Rock of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. PHOTO: ANADOLU
Israeli authorities continued to ban Muslims from Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest mosque, for the fourth week in a row, keeping the site closed since late February under emergency measures linked to the war with Iran.
Israeli police kept the mosque doors closed and deployed forces in Jerusalem’s Old City to prevent worshipers from entering the compound.
Authorities closed the site after the war began, citing Home Front Command directives banning large gatherings. Since then, prayers at the mosque have been reserved only for guards and members of the Islamic Waqf, which oversees the site. Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most important holy sites in Christianity.
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Witnesses recounted Anadolu that police prevented Palestinians from praying on streets near the walls of the Old City, including on Salah al-Din Street.
Calls have circulated in Jerusalem, urging worshipers to pray as close as possible to Al-Aqsa due to its continued closure. Palestinians instead pray in the city’s small mosques.
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 its war with Iran began on February 28, citing security concerns, while Iran launched missile and drone attacks in retaliation 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 refused to reopen the mosque. Worshipers in East Jerusalem said the closure was unjustified and politically motivated.
