OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC)
The closure of al-Aqsa Mosque can no longer be framed as a temporary “security measure” imposed during escalating attacks. Rather, it reflects a deeper shift in how Israel manages the conflict over Jerusalem and seeks to redefine its relationship with al-Aqsa: one of the world’s most sensitive religious and political sites.
By barring hundreds of thousands of Muslims from performing prayers, including Friday prayers during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, the closure goes beyond procedural justifications.
It raises fundamental questions about sovereignty, the redefinition of the “status quo,” and the future of al-Aqsa amid turbulent regional dynamics.
When Israeli authorities announced the closure in late February, they linked it to a state of emergency following the joint US-Israeli aggression against Iran.
Yet the continuation of the closure for more than a month, with no serious signs of reopening, suggests a deliberate attempt to entrench a new reality rather than a temporary response.
Analyses across multiple media platforms indicate that Israel is “using the regional moment to reorder control over Jerusalem.”
This pattern is not new; major crises have often been used to impose gradual, hard-to-reverse changes on the ground.
Although al-Aqsa has faced closures before, the duration and scope of the current shutdown mark a significant departure.
Even during periods of heightened tension, restrictions typically took the form of age limits or controlled access, rather than a prolonged and near-total closure.
Preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, stated that closing the Mosque is religiously impermissible and cannot be justified under any security pretext, adding that denying Muslims the right to pray violates the most basic religious freedoms.
“The move represents a clear attempt to impose dominance over the Mosque and strip the Islamic Waqf of its authority in blatant violation of the historic and legal status quo,” Sabri affirmed.
For his part, Birzeit University lecturer Wael Awad highlighted that under the Geneva Conventions, an occupying power is obligated to ensure access to places of worship, pointing out that the continued closure of the holy Islamic site exposes Israel to legal criticism.
Meanwhile, Professor Abdullah Marouf defined the “status quo” as the preservation of the conditions that existed in Jerusalem prior to the occupation, stressing that Israel violated it throughout the years by settlement expansion, destruction of the Moroccan Quarter, seizure of al-Buraq Wall, and extensive excavations beneath and around the Old City.
According to reports by the Wall and Settlement Commission, massive funding for structural projects included museums and cable cars surrounding the Old City, in addition to escalating settler incursions into al-Aqsa with severe restrictions on Palestinian worshipers.
Furthermore, writer and researcher in Jerusalem affairs, Ali Ibrahim, said that such a closure extends far beyond restricting prayer, pointing out that it strikes at the core of Jerusalem’s social structure.
The closure of Al-Aqsa may not remain an isolated incident but could evolve into a recurring policy. Whether the Mosque is reopened under pressure or remains closed, the precedent itself signals a shift toward using access as a tool of control within a broader strategy of spatial and political domination.