Palestinian Muslims gather at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on February 20, 2026, to enter Jerusalem on their way to Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first Friday noon prayers of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. AFP
The prayers at Al-Aqsa took place for the first time since a shaky ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October. It was the first opportunity many had to leave the West Bank and pray at the site in occupied East Jerusalem since Ramadan last year.
But Israel restricted the number of Palestinians allowed to enter Israel from the West Bank to 10,000 on Friday, and only allowed men over 55 and women over 50, as well as children up to 12.
Israeli police said more than 3,000 police officers were deployed across Jerusalem.
The Israeli occupation has restricted Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, as part of its attempt to judaize occupied East Jerusalem, with settlers routinely storming the compound under police protection.
Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian religious authority that administers the compound, said there were 80,000 in attendance. In normal times, Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa can draw up to 200,000.
Ezaldeen Mustafah, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was among those lamenting the restrictions.
“We need more people than this,” Mustafah said.
Some Palestinians from the West Bank on Friday said they were turned away from crossing into Jerusalem even though they had permits.
Jihad Bisharat said he was told his permit had been cancelled and was sent back.
Ramadan in Gaza
Many Palestinians said the month’s typically festive spirit is eluding them as they struggle with grief and losses following the two-year conflict in Gaza.
“Previously, there were mosques, but today all the mosques have been bombed,” said Ramiz Firwana, a Gaza resident who gathered with other worshippers for a Friday sermon and prayers held in a schoolyard.
On Thursday evening, families sat amid the rubble and destruction for iftar, the fast-breaking meal.
“Despite the displacement, the pain and the destruction, we want to rejoice and live,” said Mohammad Kollab, from Khan Younis. “We are a people who want to live, we are not a people destined only for destruction and killing.”
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and 171,000 were injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents.
The Oct. 10 U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal attempted to halt more than two years of the Israeli war in the strip.
Israel's almost daily airstrikes on the strip since the start of the ceasefire has killed more than 600 Palestinians.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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