Israel extends ban on Al-Aqsa imam until April 2027 amid wider restrictions on Palestinians

Israel has renewed a ban on Sheikh Ekrima Sabri from Al-Aqsa Mosque, extending his exclusion until April 2027. The decision affects one of the most prominent Palestinian religious figures in occupied East Jerusalem and comes amid a broader pattern of restrictions at the holy site. Palestinian groups say the move is part of a wider effort to reduce Palestinian presence at Al-Aqsa and in the Old City.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The latest exclusion order was issued on October 20, according to the supporting report. Sabri, who heads the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, has been barred from praying or delivering sermons at Al-Aqsa for more than two years. He has faced repeated exclusion orders since August 2024, after Israeli police detained him over a sermon in which he mourned Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The renewed ban is the fifth exclusion order issued against him, he said. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Palestinian human rights monitoring group, says Israeli authorities have issued more than 1,000 exclusion orders barring Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City since the beginning of 2026. The group says the orders have affected religious figures and Islamic Waqf employees, and that the pace increased ahead of Jewish holidays.

It documented more than 40 such orders over five days in early September. Sabri said the latest extension was unjust, illegal, inhumane and uncivilised, and said it was intended to silence those who speak out about Al-Aqsa. The dispute matters because Al-Aqsa is the third holiest site in Islam and a central symbol in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Control over access and prayer rights at the compound has long been politically sensitive, with any change in practice carrying significance beyond the immediate religious setting. The report says far-right Jewish religious activists have increasingly been allowed to pray there under Israeli police protection, in a move that goes against a longstanding status quo and has drawn opposition from ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious authorities. Sabri's case also reflects the wider role of the Islamic Waqf, which has traditionally been involved in administering the site.

According to the report, Waqf officials are warning of shrinking authority at the mosque as Israeli restrictions expand. Sabri is described as one of the most prominent Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and his exclusion has become a focal point for complaints that Palestinian religious and civic space is being narrowed. The issue is therefore not only about one cleric, but about the balance of authority at a site with deep religious and national meaning.

The latest order also fits into a longer-running pattern of confrontation around Al-Aqsa. The report says Sabri has been repeatedly interrogated by Israeli authorities and that the restrictions began after his August 2024 detention. Since then, he has remained unable to lead prayers or deliver sermons at the mosque.

Palestinian monitors say the number of exclusion orders has risen sharply this year, especially around periods of heightened religious sensitivity. For now, the key questions are whether the ban on Sabri will be challenged or extended again, and whether the broader pattern of exclusion orders will continue through the coming months. It is also unclear how many of the reported orders have been formally contested or reviewed.

What is clear from the latest report is that access to Al-Aqsa remains a live point of tension, with religious practice, policing and political control closely intertwined.

#AlAqsaMosque #SheikhEkrimaSabri #Jerusalem #exclusionorder #Palestinianrestrictions