ABNA24 - Israeli orders banning Palestinians from Aqsa Mosque and Occupied Al-Quds are no longer exceptional measures targeting individuals. They have increasingly become a tool for restricting Palestinian presence in the city and at the Mosque, with Israeli authorities issuing around 800 such orders since the beginning of 2026 against Al-Quds residents, activists, Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, and Palestinians inside Israel.
The Palestine Information Center “Ma’ta” said the orders included bans on entering Aqsa Mosque for periods ranging from one week to six months, while others prohibited Palestinians from entering Al-Quds’s Old City and various neighborhoods across the city.
The figures point to the expanding use of exclusion orders to control Palestinian movement in Al-Quds , particularly among those who regularly visit Aqsa Mosque, as Israeli authorities continue to tighten security measures and restrictions on access to the holy site.
The increase in exclusion orders in recent months has coincided with intensified settler incursions into Aqsa Mosque, alongside stricter Israeli measures against worshippers and Palestinians entering through the Mosque’s gates.
Restrictions are not limited to exclusion orders. Palestinians across Al-Quds face repeated searches and identification checks, as well as restrictions on movement and access to Aqsa, affecting the ability of Al-Quds residents and other Palestinians to pray and maintain a regular presence at the Mosque.
As a result, Palestinians targeted by exclusion orders find themselves barred from a mosque they regularly attended, while Jewish settlers continue to enter the compound under the protection of Israeli police forces. The disparity has fueled Palestinian concerns that restrictions on worshippers are being used to gradually reshape the status quo at Aqsa.
Exclusion orders as a tool to isolate Palestinians
The exclusion orders come within a broader Israeli policy targeting Palestinian presence in Occupied Al-Quds. Their impact is not always limited to preventing individuals from entering Aqsa Mosque, as some orders also prohibit Palestinians from entering the Old City or other parts of Occupied Al-Quds .
In recent years, Israeli authorities have increasingly used such measures against Al-Quds residents, activists and religious figures, turning exclusion orders into a form of pressure that separates Palestinians from their religious and social surroundings and limits their participation in public life in Al-Quds .
This is particularly significant in the Old City and Aqsa Mosque, where growing restrictions on Palestinians have coincided with an expanding settler presence and repeated incursions into the Mosque compound.
Restrictions and Palestinian warnings
Palestinian groups warn that the continued use of exclusion orders cannot be separated from Israeli attempts to impose new realities at Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, particularly amid increasing settler incursions and Israeli calls to consolidate their presence at the holy site.
Palestinians, meanwhile, have increasingly called for a stronger and sustained presence at Aqsa Mosque despite restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities.
While Israeli authorities say such measures are imposed for security reasons, the scale of the exclusion orders documented by Ma’ta has prompted Palestinians to view the policy as part of a broader system of restrictions targeting their presence in Occupied Al-Quds .
Around 800 exclusion orders in roughly nine months of 2026 represent more than hundreds of Palestinians being denied access to Aqsa. They reflect a growing reality in which access to the Mosque and the ability to maintain a Palestinian presence around it are increasingly conditioned on decisions by Israeli authorities.
In Occupied Al-Quds, where Aqsa Mosque is central to Palestinian religious and national identity, excluding Palestinians from the site means more than temporarily preventing them from praying. It restricts their presence in the very place to which they are deeply connected, while Jewish settlers continue to enter the compound and seek to impose new realities on the ground.
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