JERUSALEM, February 20, 2026 (WAFA) – Hard-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday stormed the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Circulating footage showed Ben-Gvir entering through the Moroccan Gate area, accompanied by Israeli Police Commissioner Daniel Levy and Jerusalem District Police Commander Avshalom Peled. He delivered inflammatory remarks against Palestinians in front of Israeli police officers.
The Moroccan Gate is one of the main entrances to Al-Aqsa Mosque, located along its western wall toward the south, near the Al-Buraq Wall. It has been under Israeli control since 1967 and is used by Israeli forces and colonists to break into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The Jerusalem Governorate said Ben-Gvir’s move and statements come amid heightened Israeli measures and restrictions imposed on worshippers in occupied Jerusalem.
Despite tight restrictions, around 80,000 worshippers performed the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem.
Since the early morning hours, Israeli forces imposed strict measures on Palestinians coming from the West Bank to Jerusalem for prayers, turning back dozens of elderly people at the Qalandia and Bethlehem military checkpoints for allegedly lacking the required permits. Forces also briefly detained four paramedics and obstructed the work of journalists and medical teams at Qalandia checkpoint.
Additional restrictions were enforced at the entrances to the Old City and the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where young men were subjected to ID checks and many were denied entry.
M.N
