Palestinians face growing bans from Al-Aqsa as Israel tightens control

Palestinian preacher Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of Jerusalem’s Higher Islamic Council, has been barred from Al-Aqsa Mosque for more than two years. An order issued on October 20 extends his ban on praying or preaching there until April 2027, following his detention in August 2024 over a sermon mourning the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. The Palestinian Wadi Hilweh Information Center says Israeli authorities have issued more than 1,000 exclusion orders against Palestinians from Al-Aqsa and the Old City since the start of 2026. Meanwhile, far-right Jewish religious activists have increasingly been allowed to pray at the site under police protection, challenging the longstanding status quo.