Few observers anticipated that developments at Al Aqsa Mosque would reach their current level at the beginning of this Ramadan. Israeli threats prior to the holy month had focused on reducing the number of worshippers, particularly from the West Bank, preventing spiritual retreat within the mosque, and allowing continued incursions during Ramadan.
What was not publicly declared, however, was what appears to be an intention to dismantle the Palestinian administrative and media infrastructure linked to Al Aqsa during Ramadan. The occupation views this month as the most challenging period of the year. Any measures successfully imposed during Ramadan are likely to be more easily extended throughout the rest of the year.
Targeting the Islamic Waqf Administration
The escalation began with measures against the Islamic Waqf Department. Israeli police summoned the Director of the Waqf, Azzam Al Khatib, to the main police station in the Old City, known as Al Qishla.
This move was regarded by the Waqf as a political precedent that would effectively subordinate the department to the occupation authorities and formalise Israeli sovereignty over the mosque. It was therefore expected that Al Khatib would refuse the summons.
Israeli police appeared prepared for this refusal and proceeded with punitive measures. These included preventing the entry of umbrellas, obstructing preparations of the mosque courtyards for Ramadan, blocking the preparation of the mosque’s only medical clinic for worshippers, and preventing the entry of iftar meals for fasting worshippers and suhoor meals for guards. As a result, members of the public were forced to bring limited meals individually and rely on temporary mobile clinics instead of the official facility.
These measures followed earlier hostile actions carried out before Ramadan, when occupation forces raided Waqf offices inside Al Aqsa at night, broke the lock of Dar Al Hadith near Bab Al Rahma and prevented its replacement, and issued blanket entry bans affecting approximately one thousand Jerusalem residents.
The insistence on summoning the Director of the Waqf to various police stations, whether in the Old City or inside the occupied Al Aqsa compound, can only be understood as an attempt to compel the Jordanian affiliated Waqf administration to recognise Israeli authorities as the sole reference within the mosque.
Such recognition would pave the way for full Israeli sovereignty over Al Aqsa. The occupation cannot secure this solely through force without obtaining de facto legitimacy through acknowledgment by the Islamic administration of the mosque.
All these measures appear aimed at dismantling the Palestinian and Islamic administrative structure represented by the Waqf, first stripping it of influence and eventually removing it altogether. This outcome has long been demanded by extremist Temple groups and religious Zionist movements active around Al Aqsa.
It is not inconceivable that the ultimate objective of these unprecedented escalatory measures is the complete abolition of the Waqf in the near future.
A Historical Precedent
This would not be the first such attempt. Following the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel sought to dissolve the Waqf by demanding that it submit lists of mosque employees to the Ministry of Religious Affairs in preparation for direct Israeli control.
At that time, the firm stance of Sheikh Abdul Hamid Al Saeh and several Jerusalem scholars, who staged a sit in and established the Supreme Islamic Council, prevented this move and forced Israel to return the mosque’s administration to the Islamic Waqf.
Media Suppression in Jerusalem
Current developments suggest that conditions may now be aligned for Israel to close Al Aqsa entirely to Muslims, even during Ramadan. Such a step would require only an opportune moment seized by the occupation, possibly in the context of a broader regional escalation such as a strike against Iran.
Israel appears to be exploiting global distraction following the declared ceasefire in Gaza, as well as international mobilisation surrounding potential confrontation between the United States and Iran, to decisively settle the Jerusalem and Al Aqsa file.
In this context, another significant step was taken with the targeting of Jerusalem based Palestinian media platforms. On the night of Monday 23 February, Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz announced the banning of several major Jerusalem media outlets, including Al Bawsala, Al Asima, Miraj, Al Mayadeen and Quds Plus.
These platforms are among the most widely followed sources reporting developments in the Holy City and serve as a central media lens on events at Al Aqsa.
Katz justified the decision by linking these platforms to Palestinian resistance, alleging that they function as arms of Hamas and that their reporting constitutes incitement.
The use of labels such as terrorism and incitement reflects, according to this view, the occupation’s alarm at the ability of these platforms to convey developments in Jerusalem to the wider world. The concern lies in the potential consequences of exposing escalating violations at Al Aqsa, particularly amid heightened tension in the West Bank and Jerusalem during the years of war on Gaza.
The suppression of media coverage indicates an intention to remove witnesses ahead of possible actions in the mosque in the coming days, whether during Ramadan or immediately thereafter.
Toward Direct Israeli Administration?
The occupation views the present moment as a historic opportunity to assert full control over Al Aqsa, similar to the control imposed over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Israel has already formed what it calls the Temple Mount Administration, comprised of figures aligned with religious Zionism, and treats it as a de facto body.
It is therefore conceivable that Israel could announce the transfer of Al Aqsa’s administration to this entity, as it transferred the religious administration of the Ibrahimi Mosque earlier this year to the religious council of the Kiryat Arba settlement.
The central question now is the likelihood and timing of a complete closure of Al Aqsa. The answer is deeply troubling given the current state of weakness across the Arab and Muslim world.
The present Israeli government, shaped by religious Zionist and messianic currents since 2022, is viewed as operating without traditional political calculations. Jerusalem district police leadership, aligned with this ideological direction, no longer appears to restrain governmental escalation. Even the Shin Bet, historically seen as a moderating institution, has undergone leadership changes perceived as politically aligned.
The Risk of Closure During War
All indicators suggest that Israel could close Al Aqsa entirely to Muslims, even during Ramadan. Such a step would be facilitated by a state of emergency in the event of broader war, granting the occupation expanded authority to impose measures under the cover of conflict.
There is historical precedent. During the twelve day war with Iran in June 2025, the occupation closed Al Aqsa. A similar closure during Ramadan would carry far greater symbolic and practical consequences.
Closing the mosque during the most significant days of the Islamic calendar would enable the occupation to consolidate control and extend restrictions beyond Ramadan, particularly in the absence of the large popular presence that characterises the holy month despite existing barriers.
The only factor capable of disrupting such a plan is sustained popular presence within Al Aqsa and collective determination. The popular will, which the occupation believed it had broken through the war of annihilation in Gaza, remains the decisive element capable of altering the equation before it is too late.
