While thousands of Muslim worshipers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem to pray on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan Sunday, police officers scuffled with some attendees at the entrance to the flashpoint Temple Mount site, according to a video circulating on social media.
The footage showed Israeli Border Police officers assailing some with batons at the entrance to the compound. In response to the video, Israel Police said it was working to “enable freedom of worship on the Temple Mount while at the same time ensuring safety and security, in accordance with instructions given by the political leadership.”
It was not entirely clear what those instructions are.
Police said there was “increased inspection was carried out in the area” to detect threats and “prevent potential criminals, instigators and violators of public order, all for the sake of public peace and security, and the proper observance of Ramadan prayers.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged last week that the number of worshipers allowed to pray on the Temple Mount in the first week of Ramadan would be the same as in previous years and that no restrictions would be imposed on Israeli Arabs, overruling a previous decision by ultranationalist firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police.
Most of the Arab population of Jerusalem, however, does not hold Israeli citizenship, and can therefore be subject to stricter limitations.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was reportedly looking to limit attendance “in the initial stage” of Ramadan, adding that younger Arabs, whether Israeli or from East Jerusalem, are the main “agitators” and should therefore be barred.
Photos and videos filmed Sunday night and shared on X showed groups of young Muslim men who were refused access to the Al-Aqsa compound praying in the alleys leading to it, and outside the walls of the Old City.
Ha’aretz reported that hundreds of young Palestinians were prevented from accessing the site on Sunday night but that some managed to enter the compound with their parents or when police loosened the barriers due to pressure created by gatherings at the entrances.
According to the report, thousands of Muslim worshipers prayed at the site Sunday, with their numbers expected to swell over the coming days to reach tens of thousands on Friday.
Ramadan began Sunday as the war in Gaza cast a somber mood on normally festive preparations by Muslims, and ratcheted up fears of violence amid already sky-high tensions in the region.
Thousands of police have been deployed around the narrow streets of the Old City in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshipers are expected every day at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. The compound sits atop the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism where the two biblical temples stood.
The sacred Ramadan month, which sees those observing abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset, marks a period of religious reflection, family get-togethers and giving across the Muslim world. Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia saw the crescent moon Sunday night, meaning Monday is the first day of the fast in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as much of the rest of the Muslim world, though others, like Jordan, will begin the holy month Tuesday.
Israeli security officials fear that Muslim anger over the Gaza war could rise to a crescendo during Ramadan, fueling unrest, especially if Israeli authorities attempt to limit access to the Haram al-Sharif holy site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Police said earlier Sunday that terror groups were attempting to stir up unrest in the capital around Ramadan by spreading “false information regarding the reality in Jerusalem, the Old City and in particular the Temple Mount.”
A statement said that 20 East Jerusalem residents had been arrested on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism over the past two weeks.
In the past, rumors of Israeli attempts to change the sensitive status quo at the Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, have threatened to upend any semblance of calm in Jerusalem.