Isra Miraj in Palestine: How Israel Blockaded Al Aqsa from Palestinian Muslims

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Al Aqsa Mosque is a historic mosque in Jerusalem, located in the Old City at the terminal point of Prophet Muhammad's Isra Miraj journey. 

According to Islamic Source, Al-Quran (surah 17:1) indicates that the prophet was miraculously transported one night from Mecca (Al-Masjid Al-Haram, or “the sacred place of worship”) to this site in Jerusalem (Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, “the farther place of worship”). 

In modern times, the mosque and the plaza (including the Dome of the Rock) have become a particular point of tension in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Apart from its importance to Muslims, the plaza holds significance for Jews as the site of the Temple of Jerusalem, whose Herodian incarnation was destroyed in 70 CE.

The Temple Mount, as Jews refer to the plaza, and the adjacent Western Wall have since served as a site of pilgrimage. During the Six-Day War (1967), Israel (a state established in 1948) occupied East Jerusalem and its Old City.

Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, but the plaza was left under the custodianship of an Islamic trust (waqf) maintained by the Hashemite dynasty in Jordan.

In the following decades, Israel has put restrictions on Palestinian Muslims’ access to the site. The restriction as well as Israeli excavation projects in the vicinity and evictions of Palestinian residents in nearby neighborhoods, contributed to Muslims’ concerns over the holy site’s fate.

Al Aqsa Today

Israeli restrictions prevented tens of thousands of Palestinians from attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque on the seventeenth Friday since the start of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7.

Only 13,000 individuals managed to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers, a significant decrease from the usual attendance of over 50,000 on regular Fridays, an official from the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem informed Anadolu.

Eyewitnesses corroborated, stating that only a few thousand elderly individuals could access the mosque, with its courtyards and prayer areas appearing “almost empty” due to Israeli restrictions.

Israeli police have imposed limitations on worshippers' entry to Al-Aqsa since Oct. 7, but the restriction is tenfold on Fridays.

At the entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem and the outer gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli police erected barriers, permitting only the elderly to pass through.

Hundreds of Palestinians were compelled to perform Friday prayers in streets near the Old City.

Israel's ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza has killed at least 27,131 Palestinians with 66,287 others wounded, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel expedited its hostilities in Gaza after an attack by resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

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