Ongoing arrests, summonses, and expulsions: Al-Aqsa under the weight of escalating ban orders
In recent days, Jerusalem has seen an ongoing wave of arrests, summonses, and orders barring individuals from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The measures target different segments of the Jerusalemite population, with bans lasting from one week—renewable—to six months. Some orders are handed to individuals in person, while others are sent via WhatsApp along with maps showing the areas they are prohibited from entering.
These actions come amid ongoing arrests and detentions, including the detention of 67-year-old Palestinian writer and analyst Rasem Obeidat. On Sunday, the Jerusalem Magistrate Court extended his detention until next Wednesday.
Forces raided Obeidat’s home at dawn in Jerusalem’s Jabal Al-Mukabber village and arrested him. His family said this was his eighth arrest in five years.
Additionally, forces arrested Mohammed Al-Qaq from Silwan today.
New expulsion orders: Weekly bans and others for a period of six months
Alongside the arrests, authorities continue to issue orders barring individuals from Al-Aqsa Mosque. In recent days, several Jerusalemites received six-month expulsion orders via WhatsApp, signed by the Jerusalem police commander. The orders included maps marking the restricted areas, which cover the entire Al-Aqsa Mosque, including its porticoes, covered passageways, and access routes.
Additionally, police have recently summoned several young Jerusalemites and served them with one-week expulsion orders from Al-Aqsa Mosque, subject to potential renewal for extended periods of up to several months.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem clarified that the one-week expulsion order remains in effect until the Jerusalem police commander issues a formal decision. A delay in receiving the order, or its delivery via WhatsApp, does not authorize the individual to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque; the ban remains in force.
35 expulsion orders... and 13 Ramadans away from Al-Aqsa
Jamil Abbasi, a Jerusalemite from Silwan, illustrates the scope and recurrence of these banishment orders. Since 2003, he has faced a continuous series of banishment orders and measures restricting his access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Old City, and Jerusalem as a whole.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem reported that Abbasi was first issued a banishment order in 2003. Since then, he has received approximately 35 orders, including repeated bans from Al-Aqsa Mosque, two orders barring him from the Old City, and two barring him from all of Jerusalem.
The order, served on him two days ago, is his seventh consecutive six-month banishment. Like the previous orders, it bars him from Al-Aqsa Mosque, its entrances and covered arcades, and the paths leading to it.
The Center added that the banishment orders against Jamil Abbasi are no longer isolated incidents but are renewed continuously. Though they range in duration from two weeks to three or six months, they keep him under restriction for successive, uninterrupted periods.
For years, Abbasi has been barred from Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan. He remains banned this year, too: the latest order, issued in September, is in effect until next March. As a result, the upcoming Ramadan will begin while he is still prohibited from entering the mosque, marking the 13th Ramadan he has been barred from Al-Aqsa.
The measures taken against him went beyond expulsion orders. They also included suspending national insurance benefits for him and his family members for about 18 years, as well as court rulings requiring him to perform unpaid community service in six separate cases.
Arrest followed by expulsion: A series of measures against Khadija Khweis
These measures also target Jerusalemite Khadija Khweis, who was arrested at her workplace, a school, last Wednesday. After several hours of interrogation, she was released under an order barring her from the Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week. Police officers at the "Qishla" station in Jerusalem's Old City issued the order, which may be renewed for a longer period—potentially several months.
The next day, Thursday, Khweis was called in for further questioning and given an order signed by Benjamin Netanyahu, the occupation's Prime Minister.
This new expulsion order is part of a continuing series of measures and decisions against Khweis. Since 2014, successive orders have barred her from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, keeping her from entering for most of the intervening years. A travel ban was also imposed on her in 2023, continuing the restrictions and prohibitions against her.
A ban imposed even on someone unable to reach Al-Aqsa
In another case, about a week ago, Jerusalemite media personality Salwa Abu Libdeh was summoned by intelligence services for questioning over her social media posts at the "Al-Qishla" police station in Jerusalem's Old City. She was released on the condition that she stay away from Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week, a ban that may be renewed for several months.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center noted that Abu Libdeh has used a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in 2019. Her condition limits her mobility, and she has not practiced journalism since then.
Although her health condition has prevented her from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque for the past seven years, she was issued an order banning her from the site, and police confiscated her iPad.
Arrests and ban orders target Al-Aqsa guards and Jerusalemite youths
On Friday, forces arrested Al-Aqsa Mosque guard Ahmed Abu Alia from his home, releasing him hours later after serving him with an order banning him from the Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week, subject to renewal.
Al-Aqsa guard Arafat Najib also received a one-week ban order, also subject to renewal.
These weekly ban orders also extended to young men—Mahmoud Al-Abbasi, Imad Abeesan, Mohammed Abu Tayeh, Hatem Jabr Al-Abbasi, and Suhaib Al-A’war—who were served with orders banning them from the Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week, subject to renewal.
Additionally, authorities issued six-month ban orders against Mahmoud Abu Dheim and Ahmed Shwayat, while the other individuals involved chose to remain anonymous.
These cases reflect an ongoing pattern of arrests, summonses, and ban orders occurring together. In many instances, a ban follows an arrest or interrogation, while short-term bans are converted into renewable orders or extended for months.
