Israeli Occupation Authorities Issued 15 Bans from Al-Aqsa Since the Beginning of September
JERUSALEM, September 6, 2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate warned of the dangers of the escalating Israeli occupation authorities' orders to ban Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque, coinciding with the approach of the Jewish holidays. The Governorate considers this escalation part of a systematic policy aimed at reducing the Palestinian presence within the mosque and paving the way for increased settler incursions and attempts to impose new religious realities in its courtyards.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Governorate explained that the occupation authorities issued 15 bans from Al-Aqsa Mosque between the beginning of September and September 6, compared to 23 orders during the combined months of July and August (17 in July and 6 in August). This reflects the accelerated use of the ban policy ahead of the Jewish holidays.
The governorate indicated that the total number of deportation orders issued from the beginning of the year until the end of August reached 785, including 762 orders issued during the first half of the year. Most of these orders concerned the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, particularly in the period preceding and during the holy month of Ramadan. With the addition of new orders issued in September, the total number reached 800.
The governorate noted that these figures represent only what could be monitored and documented, and may not reflect the full number of orders issued. This is due to reports received via WhatsApp and the reluctance of some individuals targeted to disclose their deportation orders for fear of repercussions from the occupation authorities. The actual number is likely higher than the recorded figures.
Conversely, the governorate's data reveals that the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound witnessed 40,661 incursions by settlers from the beginning of the year until the end of August, placing the escalation of deportation orders within a broader context. As the number of Jerusalemites barred from accessing the mosque grows, settler incursions continue at an alarming rate, in a parallel strategy of restricting Palestinian presence on one hand and expanding settler presence and incursions on the other.
The Jerusalem Governorate affirmed that barring Palestinians from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is not an isolated or emergency measure, but rather a systematic policy pursued by the occupation authorities for years. However, its severity intensifies with the approach of the Jewish holidays, which span from mid-September to early October. These holidays begin with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) on Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13, followed by the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur on September 21. Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) follows from Saturday, September 26, until Friday, October 2, and concludes with Shemeni Atzeret and Simchat Torah on Saturday, October 3.
She warned that this period poses heightened risks to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, given the increasing calls from groups advocating for the alleged Temple to intensify incursions and attempt to perform Talmudic rituals and prayers within the mosque's courtyards. This makes the expulsion orders part of a preliminary measure to reduce the Palestinian presence during a period marked by escalating attempts to impose Jewish rituals within Al-Aqsa and alter its religious character.
She emphasized that the entire 144-dunam area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is the exclusive right of Muslims, and that all occupation measures and decisions aimed at changing the nature of the mosque or its existing historical and legal status, or imposing new religious realities within it, are null and void and rejected. These measures do not grant the occupation any right to alter the mosque's identity or its existing historical and legal status.
