Israel detains assaults journalists and worshippers during Al-Aqsa Eid prayers

On 27 May, 140,000 Muslims performed Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site. However, celebrations were cut short after  Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) began arresting and attacking worshippers and journalists.

Eid prayer attacks

In one instance captured on film, members of the IOF violently assaulted a Palestinian woman, as she made her way to the mosque. She was beaten, her hijab was violently torn off, and she was subsequently arrested.

Two Palestinian journalists were also detained. Freelance video journalist Saif al-Qawasmi was arrested inside the mosque before being handed a one-week ban from entering Al-Aqsa. Meanwhile, Jerusalemite journalist and spokesperson for the Islamic Waqf Department, Firas al-Dibs, was also arrested in the mosque courtyard during sermons.

Qawasmi has told Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that he has been banned six times since 2021. Qawasmi is best known for documenting Israeli crimes across occupied East Jerusalem. He has been arrested and interrogated countless times for reporting on Israel’s Al-Aqsa raids.

In 2024, he was violently assaulted by Israeli settlers at the Jerusalem Day ‘Flag March,’ while visibly wearing a press vest. His camera and footage were confiscated and he later received a four-month ban from entering the Al-Aqsa compound.

Al Dibs is also a political commentator who has spoken out about Israeli violence at one of Islam’s holiest sites. He also documents these developments in his capacity as a journalist. In 2025 and 2016, Israeli authorities banned him from entering the mosque compound citing “security reasons.” He believes he has been unjustly targeted for merely carrying out his duties as a Waqf media official

Arbitrary ban orders

Over the last few months, Israel occupation authorities have issued more than 10 arbitrary ban orders denying Palestinian journalists and photographers access to cultural and religious sites. Many have been prevented from entering Al Aqsa Mosque compound, and from reporting on-the-ground. Some of these ban orders can last for up to six months, while others are repeatedly renewed.

In February, defense minister Israel Katz, outlawed five Palestinian media outlets which report exclusively on Jerusalem, by misapplying the country’s anti-terror laws. Nothing new there.

Al-Aqsa Mosque was the first direction of prayer, and is also deeply connected to the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey and ascension to heaven. Because of this, the compound holds immense religious and symbolic importance for Muslims around the world.

For Israelis and “birth right” tourists, the same area — which they call the Temple Mount — is regarded as the holiest place in Judaism, believed to be the location of the ancient First and Second Temples. Torah law states that, because it is so sacred, entering the area is strictly forbidden.

In 2023, Israeli occupation minister, illegal settler and criminal, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was the first senior cabinet minister to visit the site since 2000. But Israeli settlers now often storm the Al-Aqsa compound, always under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

Stripping Al- Aqsa stripped of its Muslim identity

For more than 100 years, the site has been administered internally by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf under Jordanian custodianship. The Israeli occupation authorities oversee security and external access. Under the long-standing status quo, Muslims should be able to pray freely at the compound. Non-Muslims, including Jewish visitors, may enter during limited hours and are not officially permitted to pray there.

In recent years, far-right Israeli activists and politicians have increasingly challenged these arrangements. They have advocated greater Jewish access and prayer rights at the site.  Palestinians view these organised incursions as an attempt to alter the historic status quo and undermine the Islamic identity and sovereignty of Al-Aqsa mosque.

The Israeli occupation and the US are now reportedly planning a new arrangement for the mosque complex, which would strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship. US officials have told Middle East Eye that Trump wants to see al Aqsa Mosque stripped of its Muslim identity. If implemented, this plan would see the holy site turned into a “multi-faith centre.” It would facilitate large group prayers and give Jews “equal access” to the Muslim site. The Israeli occupation would also play a major role in appointing Muslim religious officials and approving the content of Friday sermons.

The plan has triggered fierce backlash from Arab nations, Palestinian officials, and international bodies. They warn that it threatens to destabilise the region.

Jordan also claims custodial responsibilities over major Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As yet, their fate is unknown under this new plan.

Featured image via Faiz Abu Rmeleh / Getty Images