JERUSALEM, September 28, 2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate warned of the dangers of exploiting Jewish holidays to impose new realities on the ground, violate the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and disrupt the daily lives and movement of Jerusalemites. This comes as Israeli occupation authorities and colonists escalate their violations in the city during the third day of the so-called Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
In a statement, the Governorate explained that occupation forces closed the Wadi al-Rababa intersection in the Silwan neighborhood this morning, coinciding with students heading to school. This caused severe traffic congestion in the surrounding streets. They also closed Bab al-Asbat Street towards the Bab al-Rahma Cemetery and the Mughrabi Gate.
The closures are expected to extend to other roads leading to the Western Wall, in order to secure the movement of colonists participating in collective religious rituals.
It emphasized that these measures are not merely temporary security arrangements, but rather constitute collective punishment of Jerusalemites, a systematic restriction of their movement, and the appropriation of the city, its facilities, and its streets to serve the rituals of colonists, at a time when Jerusalem's residents bear the burden of closures, traffic congestion, disruption of their lives, and restrictions on their freedom of movement.
It stressed that protecting colonists during their incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound cannot be separated from the accompanying occupation measures in the Old City, Silwan, and the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including street closures, tightened military procedures, and the obstruction of citizens' movement, thus transforming Jerusalem into a city where the movement of its residents is managed according to the needs and rituals of the colonists.
Additionally, it affirmed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is not an open arena for the experiments of the occupation authorities and their colonists, nor a place to reproduce alleged historical rituals at the expense of the mosque's Islamic identity, warning that the continuation of these practices threatens to ignite the situation in Jerusalem and the entire region.
The Jerusalem Governorate called upon the international community, Arab and Islamic states, and relevant international institutions to uphold their legal, political, and moral responsibilities and take immediate action to halt the incursions and provocative rituals within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. It also urged them to pressure the occupying government to cease its measures targeting freedom of worship and the historical and legal status quo of the mosque.
Furthermore, the Governorate called for the documentation of all violations witnessed in Jerusalem during the Jewish holidays, including incursions, prayers, religious rituals, closures, and restrictions imposed on the movement of Jerusalemites. These actions are part of a comprehensive policy aimed at altering the religious and cultural landscape of the city and forcibly imposing a new reality.
The Governorate affirmed that Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa will remain symbols of Palestinian national and religious identity, and that the occupation's measures and colonists' practices, however escalated, do not grant the occupation legitimacy over the mosque, nor do they change its true identity or its religious and legal status.
K.T
