September 2025 in the city of Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem issued its monthly report for September 2025, documenting events in Jerusalem, including attacks and martyrs, and ongoing Israeli violations, most notably those taking place at Al-Aqsa Mosque. It also documented hundreds of daily deportation and arrest orders against Jerusalemites, and the escalation of demolitions, displacement, and deportation orders.
Operations, martyrs, and injuries
Amid the ongoing daily Israeli violations in Jerusalem, September witnessed the martyrdom and commission of attacks by Palestinian youths in the city, reflecting the escalating tensions there:
• September 8, 2025: On Monday morning, Muthanna Naji Amro (20 years old) from the village of Al-Qubaiba and Mohammad Bassam Taha (21 years old) from the village of Qatanna carried out a double shooting attack on the street of the Ramot settlement, built on the lands of Shu’fat and Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem. The attack resulted in the deaths of seven settlers and the injury of dozens.
• September 12, 2025: Mohammad al-Daba'i-Shawamreh (42 years old), from Shu’fat refugee camp, carried out a stabbing attack in a hotel west of Jerusalem, wounding two settlers.
• September 30, 2025: Mahdi Mohammad Awad Diriya (32 years old), carried out a car-ramming attack at the al-Khader Junction on Route 60 south of Jerusalem, wounding two settlers. The young man was shot by a settler after the attack.
Al-Aqsa Mosque: Daily assaults and seasonal raids
During September, Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed serious violations by settlers, with direct government support and on-the-ground Israeli occupation forces. These violations included daily raids and collective and public prayers, except for Fridays and Saturdays. These raids occurred during two periods: morning (7:00-11:30) and afternoon (1:30-3:00), through the Dung Gate, which has been under Israeli control since the occupation of Jerusalem.
The number of settlers storming Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month exceeded 5,000. During these raids, the settlers, led by senior rabbis, performed public religious rituals, including blowing the trumpet several times inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, prayers, collective prostration, singing, dancing, and clapping. They also brought in sacred prayer tools and performed individual and collective prayers in various courtyards of the mosque.
During the month of September, specifically on the 22nd of September, the longest season of Jewish holidays began, known as the season of attacks and violations at Al-Aqsa. The incursions witnessed a significant expansion, and special prayers were performed for the holidays. This began with the celebration of the so-called "Jewish New Year." Over three consecutive days (September 22-24), 1,315 settlers carried out extensive incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a program of morning and afternoon incursions to celebrate the holiday, followed by days of fasting and days of repentance. On the last day of the Jewish New Year, extremist Temple groups published statistics on the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the past Jewish year. They announced that 58,310 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, extending from October 3, 2024, to September 22, 2025, a 14% increase over last year's 51,223 intruders. The groups explained that approximately 200 brides and grooms celebrated their marriage, while 370 young men (high school students and pre-military preparatory groups) participated in the storming of Al-Aqsa, nearly double the number recorded last year.
The occupation forces also continued to impose various restrictions on the entry of worshippers to Al-Aqsa, especially on holidays and Fridays. These restrictions included identity checks, detention, denial of entry, searches, forced confinement, beatings, and arrests at the gates of Al-Aqsa.
The Jewish holiday season was preceded by summonses issued to Palestinians from Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, including women, youths, boys, and activists. They were issued orders banning them from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, initially for a week, followed by periods ranging from two to six months. The total number of ban orders issued reached more than 270.
From the Dung Gate to the Al-Buraq Wall: The new settlement tunnel
During September, the Israeli occupation authorities inaugurated a new section of the settlement tunnel known as the "Pilgrims' Road" in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The opening ceremony was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The new tunnel extends approximately 600 meters, starting from the Dung Gate-Givati and reaching the Al-Buraq Wall. The occupation claims that the tunnel was the historical passageway from the Silwan Spring to the so-called "Second Temple."
This project is a continuation of the first section, which opened in 2019. Historical studies confirm that the passageway was built by the Romans as a market and public square, separate from any alleged connection to the "Temple."
Evictions and expulsion knock on Jerusalem's doors: A dangerous escalation in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah
September 2025 witnessed a dangerous escalation in eviction orders targeting Jerusalemite families as part of plans to Judaize the Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah areas of Jerusalem.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that Israeli authorities' decisions last September threatened the eviction of 39 apartments in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, while more than 350 individuals face the risk of homelessness and an unknown fate.
The center monitored the latest developments in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan, where the so-called Israeli Execution and Enforcement Department delivered three families notices ordering them to vacate their homes by October 19, 2025:
• The Odeh family: One apartment.
• The Shweiki family: Two apartments.
• The Rajabi family: Three apartments.
Israeli courts also issued additional orders to evict several other buildings, including:
• The Zuhair al-Rajabi and Brothers building, consisting of seven apartments.
• Three buildings belonging to the Yaqoub al-Rajabi family, comprising 11 apartments.
• The Abd al-Fattah al-Rajabi building, comprising four apartments.
• Two residential buildings belonging to the Basbous family: the first is a three-story building comprising four apartments, and the second is a two-story building comprising two apartments.
The center explained that all of the threatened buildings and apartments in Silwan fall within a settlement plan by the Ateret Cohanim association, which aims to seize approximately 5200 square meters in the "Al-Hara Al-Wusta" of the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood, claiming Jewish ownership dating back to 1881.
A hearing was also held in the District Court to consider the case of the Sabbagh family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The judge ruled against the family's eviction on condition that they pay a monthly rent of 4,000 shekels to the “Nahalat Shimon” settlement association. This decision is extremely dangerous, as it implicitly recognizes the association's ownership of the land, contrary to previous freeze orders, which stipulated that rent be paid only to the court. The Sabbagh building, which consists of five apartments, is inhabited by approximately 35 individuals, refugees from Jaffa who were displaced in 1948.
The persecution of Palestinians from the West Bank with bullets and arrests
September 2025 witnessed an escalation in the policy of persecuting Palestinians holding West Bank ID cards under the pretext of "illegal" entry into Jerusalem, with direct gunfire and widespread arrests.
Martyr Sanad Najeh Hantouli, 25, from the city of Jenin, was killed after being shot by occupation forces in the Al-Dahiya area near Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem. The Center explained that Hantouli's death brought the number of Palestinian workers executed by occupation forces since the beginning of 2025 to four, either while attempting to enter Jerusalem or while at work within the city.
Several injuries were also recorded during the month, including live bullet injuries to Palestinians holding West Bank ID cards while attempting to enter the city.
Arrests and deportations
Occupation forces arrested hundreds from within Jerusalem, releasing a number of them on condition of deportation from the city, while indictments were filed against others.
Continuous arrests
During September 2025, the occupation authorities continued their daily arrest campaigns in Jerusalem, targeting children, youth, women, and the elderly, in addition to hundreds of young men holding West Bank ID cards under the pretext of "illegal residency."
Israeli forces also continued to raid the homes of released prisoners, searching and vandalizing their contents, and confiscating money, jewelry, and vehicles. This was based on a decision by the Israeli Defense Minister to withhold the prisoner allowances they receive from the Palestinian Authority, claiming that they "encourage attacks."
The policy of restricting prisoners continued, with summoning them immediately upon their release after the end of their sentences and imposing restrictions, including prohibiting gatherings and welcoming prisoners, and prohibiting the raising of banners and flags.
Among those arrested during the month was Sheikh Mohammad Sarandah, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, who was arrested inside the mosque after completing the Friday sermon and performing prayers, on the grounds of "incitement." He was later released on condition that he be banned from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. This move is part of an ongoing Israeli policy targeting Palestinian religious figures in Jerusalem through arrests, deportations, and interference in the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The occupation authorities also continued their crackdown on the cultural scene in Jerusalem, raiding a bookstore in the city, arresting its owner, and confiscating a number of books on the pretext that they contained "incitement content."
Demolitions and displacement
The policy of demolition continued in the city of Jerusalem during September, under the pretext of "building without a permit."
The center documented 20 demolitions and closures of residential, commercial, and agricultural facilities. The demolition methods included:
• Self-demolition/forced demolition, during which families were forced to demolish their homes to avoid heavy fines.
• Direct demolition carried out by Israeli municipality crews, accompanied by forces.
The Israeli authorities also continued to issue demolition orders, stop-work notices, and summonses to report to the municipality, as part of a systematic policy of restrictions.
The new “school year” and a shortage of classrooms
With the start of the school year in September 2025, education in Jerusalem faced significant challenges, most notably a severe shortage of classrooms, which reached 1,461, according to estimates by the Ir Amim Foundation.
The foundation explained that the Israeli Ministry of Education stipulates that any new classrooms or schools established within the government's development plan will be conditional upon operating exclusively according to the Israeli curriculum.
In the town of Silwan, the school year began with a comprehensive, open-ended strike declared by the Parents' Committee, protesting Israeli decisions that affect the future of students. These decisions include: transferring students of the Silwan Secondary School to the Silwan Al-Shamila School, converting the school to a coeducational school teaching the Israeli curriculum, and appointing principals without consulting the Parents' Committee.
To break the strike, the occupation police carried out an arrest campaign targeting several members of the Central Parents' Committee, including the committee's spokesperson, Ramadan Taha, who was later released under harsh conditions that included banning him from entering Jerusalem schools, prohibiting him from participating in any sit-ins for a month, and preventing him from communicating with school principals and teachers.
