JERUSALEM, March 15, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces have turned the Old City of Jerusalem into a military barracks, deploying hundreds of police officers from the Wadi al-Joz area to Damascus Gate, extending down to Lions’ Gate.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the Isha and Ramadan Tarawih prayers were performed on Sunday evening in the streets near Herod’s Gate and Damascus Gate, amid a complete and tightly enforced closure of the Old City.
Israeli authorities have continued to close Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent worshippers from reaching it for the sixteenth consecutive day, citing security conditions related to the war with Iran.
For the first time since 1967, Israeli forces have prevented worshippers from performing prayers and observing itikaf (spiritual retreat) at Al-Aqsa Mosque. As a result, worshippers were absent from the last Friday prayer of the month of Ramadan.
The Jerusalem Governorate had earlier warned of a dangerous escalation in incitement rhetoric led by extremist groups referred to as the so-called “Temple organizations” against Al-Aqsa Mosque amid the ongoing closure measures.
It stressed that what is happening should not be regarded as temporary security procedures, as claimed by Israeli authorities, but as part of a political and ideological trajectory aimed at altering the religious, historical, and legal status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
T.R.
