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Israeli police officers stand in front of the gates to the Aksa Mosque (2023): Muslims should initially be able to pray on Jerusalem's Temple Mount during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
Israeli police have prevented hundreds of young Palestinians from entering the Temple Mount for the first prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to Israeli media.
Emergency services also used batons on Sunday evening, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday.
Footage from the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday evening, which was shared on Israeli and social media, is said to show police pushing back a crowd with batons.
Why was initially unclear.
The authenticity of the recordings could not initially be independently verified.
Media reported heavy crowds and isolated clashes in Jerusalem.
According to Haaretz, several young people still managed to get to the Temple Mount.
Access to the Temple Mount has been severely restricted since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, and East Jerusalem is hardly accessible for Muslims from the West Bank.
Praying should be possible for the time being – but not for everyone
However, Israel's government announced last week that it would initially allow Muslims to pray on Jerusalem's Temple Mount during the fasting month of Ramadan.
However, the security situation should be assessed weekly.
However, this does not mean that all Muslims are allowed to pray at the holy site without restrictions.
For example, men between the ages of 12 and 70 should be banned from traveling from the West Bank.
Israel expects increased tensions in the West Bank and around the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem during Ramadan.
According to the Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad, Hamas is trying to "set the region on fire" during the month of fasting.
(Read here why Ramadan plays such a big role in the Gaza war.)
The Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing eyewitnesses, reported on Monday that Israeli forces had denied people access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount and had also arrested several people.
According to the information, only women aged 40 and over were allowed access to the mosque.
The information could not initially be independently verified.
Israel's police initially did not comment when asked.
The Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif, is sacred to both Jews and Muslims.
With the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque on its plateau, it is considered Islam's third most important holy site.
The complex is located in Jerusalem's Old City, which Israel conquered from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Muslim shrines on the Temple Mount plateau are managed by a Jordanian foundation, but the Israeli security forces have controlled all entrances since 1967 and thus decide who can visit them and pray there.
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Ahmed Hussein, announced on Sunday evening that Ramadan would begin in the Palestinian territories on Monday.
muk/dpa