Israel shuts Palestinian shops to facilitate Jewish prayers in Jerusalem’s Old City MEE staff on Mon, 09/28/2026 - 12:40 Police restrict Palestinian movement around Al-Aqsa as more than 50 shops are ordered to close during Sukkot Israeli men pray before the Bab al-Qattanin (the Cotton Merchants' Gate) of the Al-Aqsa Mosque during morning prayers for Sukkot in occupied East Jerusalem on 28 September 2026 (John Wessels/AFP) Off Israeli forces have ordered dozens of Palestinian shops in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem to close, restricting access to streets leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The closure covers more than 50 shops and took effect on Sunday morning, the third day of the Sukkot holiday. It is due to remain in place until 2 October. The shops are located in the Muslim Quarter, along streets leading to Bab al-Qattanin (Cotton Merchants' Gate), one of the main gates to Al-Aqsa used by Palestinian worshippers. On Sunday night, hundreds of Israelis gathered in the area for holiday rituals. Palestinian residents were ordered to remain indoors, while the Bab al-Qattanin leading to Al-Aqsa was closed. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “The situation in Jerusalem’s markets during the holidays has become a recurring and worrying pattern: streets are closed, residents’ movement is restricted, and access to the Old City is affected by security measures,” the Jerusalem Governorate said. On Yom Kippur, Israel offers forgiveness to the killer of an unarmed Palestinian Read More » “This ongoing Israeli policy threatens to gradually strip the Old City of its Palestinian commercial and tourism character and weaken shop owners whose trades and businesses have been passed down through generations.” Meanwhile, hundreds of ultranationalist Israelis stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday and Monday to mark the Jewish holiday. At least 1,500 people took part in the incursions on Sunday and another 1,200 on Monday, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. Under heavy protection from Israeli forces, the settlers performed prayers, danced, chanted songs and carried out collective rituals. Among those taking part in Sunday’s incursion was Knesset member Amit Halevi of the Likud party. 'We are the ones in charge' A group of rabbis also entered the mosque complex accompanied by dozens of settlers, chanting religious hymns and songs inside its courtyards. Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir joined the incursions on Monday. “Today, we are the ones in charge on the Temple Mount!” he said in a video posted online, using the Israeli name for the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. “We are the ones in charge in the prisons. We have turned the lives of their terrorists into hell,” he said, referring to Palestinian detainees. The Jerusalem Governorate condemned Ben Gvir’s incursion and the holding of Jewish prayers within the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); It said the rituals violated the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa and represented an attempt to impose a new religious reality there. The status quo refers to a decades-old internationally recognised arrangement governing access to and the administration of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Under the arrangement, the entire 144-dunam (14.4-hectare) complex is recognised as an exclusively Islamic holy site. Responsibility for access, prayer arrangements, maintenance and excavations falls to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the religious trust that administers the mosque. Since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, however, it has steadily sidelined the Waqf and undermined the status quo through measures including allowing near-daily incursions and Jewish prayer at the site. Occupation News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
Israeli forces have ordered dozens of Palestinian shops in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem to close, restricting access to streets leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The closure covers more than 50 shops and took effect on Sunday morning, the third day of the Sukkot holiday. It is due to remain in place until 2 October.
The shops are located in the Muslim Quarter, along streets leading to Bab al-Qattanin (Cotton Merchants' Gate), one of the main gates to Al-Aqsa used by Palestinian worshippers.
On Sunday night, hundreds of Israelis gathered in the area for holiday rituals.
Palestinian residents were ordered to remain indoors, while the Bab al-Qattanin leading to Al-Aqsa was closed.
“The situation in Jerusalem’s markets during the holidays has become a recurring and worrying pattern: streets are closed, residents’ movement is restricted, and access to the Old City is affected by security measures,” the Jerusalem Governorate said.
“This ongoing Israeli policy threatens to gradually strip the Old City of its Palestinian commercial and tourism character and weaken shop owners whose trades and businesses have been passed down through generations.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of ultranationalist Israelis stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday and Monday to mark the Jewish holiday.
At least 1,500 people took part in the incursions on Sunday and another 1,200 on Monday, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
Under heavy protection from Israeli forces, the settlers performed prayers, danced, chanted songs and carried out collective rituals.
Among those taking part in Sunday’s incursion was Knesset member Amit Halevi of the Likud party.
A group of rabbis also entered the mosque complex accompanied by dozens of settlers, chanting religious hymns and songs inside its courtyards.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir joined the incursions on Monday.
“Today, we are the ones in charge on the Temple Mount!” he said in a video posted online, using the Israeli name for the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
“We are the ones in charge in the prisons. We have turned the lives of their terrorists into hell,” he said, referring to Palestinian detainees.
The Jerusalem Governorate condemned Ben Gvir’s incursion and the holding of Jewish prayers within the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It said the rituals violated the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa and represented an attempt to impose a new religious reality there.
The status quo refers to a decades-old internationally recognised arrangement governing access to and the administration of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Under the arrangement, the entire 144-dunam (14. 4-hectare) complex is recognised as an exclusively Islamic holy site.
Responsibility for access, prayer arrangements, maintenance and excavations falls to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the religious trust that administers the mosque.
Since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, however, it has steadily sidelined the Waqf and undermined the status quo through measures including allowing near-daily incursions and Jewish prayer at the site.
