March 2025 in the city of Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem issued its report for March 2025, documenting the violations committed against the city of Jerusalem.
Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed serious and varied violations during March. Demolitions and displacement continued, and expulsion decisions from Al-Aqsa Mosque escalated, in addition to the arrests of hundreds of Palestinians.
Al-Aqsa Mosque: raids, prayers, and extended raids
The occupation authorities and the so-called “Temple groups” stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during March, which coincided with Ramadan. Numerous serious violations were recorded during the days and nights of the holy month. As for daily raids, they continued throughout the holy month, but were limited to the morning period. The duration of the raids was extended by 20 minutes, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. The raids were stopped during the last ten days of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. More than 2,600 extremist settlers and Jewish students stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem.
The highest numbers of raids were recorded at the beginning of the Hebrew month and during the Purim holiday. Settlers performed their public and collective prayers and rituals at Al-Aqsa Mosque during these raids.
It is worth noting that the raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque are carried out as part of the daily raid program, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays of each week, the last ten days of Ramadan, and religious holidays and occasions.
A decline in the number of worshippers visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan
During the month of Ramadan, the number of worshippers visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed a significant decline, particularly on Fridays and Laylat al-Qader. This decline was due to the measures imposed on residents of the West Bank, on the one hand, and the deportation orders affecting dozens of residents of Jerusalem and the Palestinian 1948 lands, on the other. These restrictions were also imposed at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as "arbitrary bans."
Israeli measures and restrictions prevented worshippers from freely and easily reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque. The occupation authorities limited the number of worshippers allowed to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank on Fridays to only 10,000, imposing special conditions and procedures, including a magnetic card and a permit from the Coordinator's App. The permit was also limited to a specific time period, from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Fridays only. The permit required a return to the checkpoint from which the person had exited to register their fingerprints and confirm their return to the West Bank.
Regarding age restrictions, men under the age of 55 and women under the age of 50 were prohibited from entering, while children under the age of 12 were permitted to enter provided they were accompanied by a parent and presented with a birth certificate.
Regarding Laylat al-Qader, the permit was valid from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the following day. However, the restrictions and strict procedures at the checkpoints at the entrance to Jerusalem prevented hundreds of worshippers from entering. Those who managed to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque arrived at the “Maghreb” call to prayer. According to what the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem reported from worshippers from the West Bank, the number of people allowed to enter was lower than announced due to strict procedures when applying for permits or at checkpoints. Cases of "denial of entry" were frequent. Many families were also denied permits, such as allowing a father but not his children, or allowing a wife but not her husband, and vice versa. In addition, the occupation authorities denied them permits for all Friday prayers during Ramadan, allowing them to pray once or twice at most.
Many families also received calls or had their homes raided by occupation authorities to ensure their return to their homes in the West Bank.
Al-Aqsa and its surroundings: Military barracks and enforced measures
At the gates of Al-Aqsa and the Old City, military checkpoints were set up and various teams deployed around the clock. Searches were conducted on young men, and the bags and purses of women were inspected as they flocked to Al-Aqsa.
Occupation forces continued to pursue those deported from Al-Aqsa during their presence at the mosque's thresholds. On several days, they prevented them from praying there and forcibly removed them from the Lions Gate area.
Occupation forces stationed at the gates of Al-Aqsa carried out inspections of “Iftar and Suhoor” meals, preventing some from bringing them in. The occupation authorities also prohibited I’tikaf (seclusion in the mosque) on Thursday and Friday nights during the first two weeks of Ramadan, threatening to storm the Al-Qibli Mosque and remove and arrest those present.
This period also witnessed a heavy deployment of special forces among the worshippers at Al-Aqsa, especially during the dawn, evening, and Tarawih prayers. There was also a presence on the roof of the Dome of the Rock. Occupation forces carried out arrests from inside Al-Aqsa Mosque on a near-daily basis, including arrests of journalists, some of whom were forcibly removed from the mosque.
For the second year in a row, the occupation authorities prevented ambulance crews from Palestinian associations and institutions from setting up tents and being present in the Al-Aqsa courtyards to provide necessary medical services to worshippers.
In two separate incidents, forces stormed the Al-Marwani prayer hall and the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall in Al-Aqsa, confiscating loudspeakers and cutting wires and electrical wiring from the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall.
On the last Friday of Ramadan, occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Friday sermon, objecting to the presence of Islamic Endowment Department employees and journalists on the roof of the Al-Qibli prayer hall to take photos. They confiscated the IDs of the journalists and Endowment employees, and confiscated the key to the door leading to the roof.
"Livelihood" Martyrs
• On March 12, 2025, worker Ra’fat Hammad (35 years old) from the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, died after falling from a height during a raid on a construction site in Jerusalem, allegedly under the pretext of searching for workers with West Bank ID cards.
• On March 16, 2025, Palestinian Maher Sarsour (59 years old) from the village of Sarta, west of Salfit, was killed during a pursuit by forces of a number of Palestinians near the apartheid wall in the town of Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem. The police claimed that he was "attempting to enter Jerusalem illegally."
• On March 25, 2025, former prisoner Mohammad Hassan Hosni Abu Hammad (41 years old) from the town of Ezaryeh was killed after being shot while walking on the bypass road near the Al-Z’ayem checkpoint. Police claimed that he attempted to run over a police officer when he was asked to stop and attempted to flee the scene, as he was in the area illegally because he held a West Bank ID card.
Deportation policy: A policy to empty Al-Aqsa
The occupation authorities escalated their issuance of deportation orders from Al-Aqsa Mosque during and before Ramadan. The deportation period was for a week and was renewable for periods ranging from 30 days to six months. The deportation orders affected employees of the Islamic Endowment Department, male and female journalists, activists, women, youth, young men, and the elderly from Jerusalem and the Palestine 1948 territories.
The methods of deportation from Al-Aqsa varied, including: delivering "interrogation summonses" to worshippers upon their exit or entry to Al-Aqsa, and after they went to the police station, they were handed deportation orders; delivering deportation orders to worshippers upon their exit or entry; arrests inside Al-Aqsa or at its gates, and delivering deportation orders to them at detention centers; and telephone calls to worshippers to verbally inform them of the deportation orders.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem monitored 94 deportation orders, including deportation orders from Al-Aqsa, the Old City of Jerusalem, and from their homes. The occupation authorities also deported a Jerusalemite woman from the city of Jerusalem on the pretext of illegal residence there. She is married and has lived in the city for 20 years.
Persecution of prisoners released in the “Exchange Deal”
During March, the occupation authorities continued to raid the homes of those released in the exchange deal in Jerusalem and impose various fines on them. This is an ongoing procedure followed with all those released in the exchange deal since the first days of the implementation of the "first batch" of the deal last January.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem, citing released prisoners and their families, stated that the occupation authorities carry out raids on homes, begin extensive searches of the home and its surroundings, and deliberately provoke the released prisoners and their families by threatening them with revocation of their ID cards or re-arrest, and by directing insults at them.
Among the most prominent forms of harassment during the recent period has been the physical provocation of prisoners, their families, and neighbors, by imposing various fines against them, including: the presence of leaves in front of the house or in its outer yard; the prohibition of hanging laundry in the yard; the presence of slogans in front of the house or on the roof; the illegal presence of a gas pipe; and other violations, including the intrusion of municipal crews and the inspection of water meters. It is worth noting that the occupation authorities impose more than one violation on each prisoner during each incursion, and the revocation of vehicle and motorcycle licenses from the families of prisoners and their neighbors.
Also notable has been the raiding of the homes of prisoners released in the deal and deported outside the Palestinian territories, with their families receiving summonses to report to interrogation centers. In addition, homes have been raided and the released prisoners verbally informed of the house arrest.
Meanwhile, Israeli media outlets have announced measures to deport released prisoners and their families from Jerusalem.
In the first phase of the exchange deal, 76 Jerusalemite prisoners holding "blue ID cards" were released. These included 27 prisoners who were deported outside the Palestinian territories, two to the Gaza Strip, eight women, and 46 prisoners serving life sentences or long prison terms.
Daily arrests
The occupation authorities continued their arrest campaigns in Jerusalem, carrying out hundreds of arrests, including children, youth, women, and the elderly. They also arrested hundreds of young men from the West Bank on the pretext of "illegal residency in Jerusalem."
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem reported that the number of arrests during the month of March exceeded 500, including more than 340 arrests of Palestinians holding West Bank ID cards on the pretext of "illegally entering and residing in Jerusalem." More than 60 arrests of worshippers (boys, men, and women) were recorded at Al-Aqsa Mosque and its gates. The number of arrested youths, ranging in age from 12 to 17, exceeded 45.
The occupation authorities placed four young men from Jerusalem under administrative detention, three youths under house arrest, and one of them was deported from his home. A girl was also placed under house arrest and deported from her home, as was a journalist pending the completion of legal proceedings against her.
During March, the occupation authorities targeted journalists with arrests while they were working in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Old City, or from their homes, or with summonses. Many were issued bans from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Settler attacks
Settler attacks on Jerusalemites and property continued in Jerusalem.
At the end of March, settlers set fire to the courtyard of the UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Video footage showed the fire raging in the courtyard. This was the third time the same location had been set on fire.
In January 2025, the agency evacuated the headquarters as Israeli laws targeting UNRWA's work began to be implemented. In October 2024, the Knesset passed a law banning UNRWA's activities inside Israel, in addition to a law prohibiting contact with it. The law went into effect at the end of January 2025.
During March, settlers attacked Jerusalemites using bullets and sharp objects. A young man was shot at night while walking on Jaffa Street. The settler was not arrested, even though a soldier was standing nearby and left the scene with the settler without providing medical treatment. A bus driver was also assaulted while working in the Ramot settlement, built on land in the town of Shu’fat. The attack involved sharp objects and a fire extinguisher.
Several attacks involving insults, profanity, and shoving were reported against Palestinians in Silwan and the Old City of Jerusalem as they headed to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In mid-March, an Armenian man was attacked by Jewish settlers in the Old City. One of the settlers strangled the cleric, followed by a group of settlers. The cleric managed to escape home after the intervention of a passerby.
Demolitions and displacement
Demolitions continued during Ramadan. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem monitored 16 demolitions and closures of residential, commercial, livestock, and agricultural facilities in Jerusalem. The demolitions in the city were carried out under the pretext of "building without a permit," while the closures were carried out under the pretext of "illegally employing or sheltering Palestinians from the West Bank."
Miscellaneous
• At the end of March, the Knesset approved a bill that would cut off National Insurance benefits to prisoners, citizens, or residents convicted of killing Israelis, attempting to kill them, or carrying out other attacks. The law also includes cutting off National Insurance benefits for “income security” for wives.
• The occupation authorities also issued a decision to evict the Al-Basha family from their property in the Old City of Jerusalem. The family began their legal struggle to protect their rights to the property in 2018. The property consists of three floors, overlooks Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the upper floor houses a synagogue.
• Last March, the occupation authorities raided the “Educational Bookshop” on Salah al-Din Street, arrested its owner, and confiscated a number of books from it, based on a complaint from a settler who claimed that “there were incitement books” in the bookshop and filed a complaint with the police.
• A sniper targeted the child, Mays Mahmoud (13 years old), while she was with her sister and friends on the roof of her house in the village of Issawiya, and shot her in the leg, while he fired a second bullet towards the roof, which passed near her other sister without her being injured.
