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Al-Aqsa Reopens in East Jerusalem After 40-Day Closure With Worshippers Returning

Heavy policing with renewed settler visits keeps access contested.

For the first time in 41 days, Muslim worshippers returned to Al-Aqsa Mosque
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, after restrictions were lifted following a ceasefire reached between Iran, Israel and the United States, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, after restrictions were lifted following a ceasefire reached between Iran, Israel and the United States, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshippers pray at Deir Al-Sultan monastery on top of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after restrictions were lifted following a ceasefire reached between Iran, Israel and the United States, in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Overview

  • The compound, which reopened at dawn Thursday, drew about 3,000 worshippers for Fajr according to the Islamic Waqf and verified video.
  • Following Friday’s prayers, the Waqf reported more than 100,000 people at Al-Aqsa in a rapid return to communal worship.
  • Israeli police lifted citywide limits on holy sites after a two-week ceasefire was announced and deployed hundreds of officers who checked IDs at gates as Palestinian outlets reported denied entries and detentions.
  • Ultra-nationalist visits resumed on an extended timetable running 6:30–11:30 a.m. and 1:30–3:00 p.m., a change the Jerusalem Governorate warns could entrench time-based division at the site.
  • Access remains shaped by the decades-old Status Quo that grants the Jordan-linked Islamic Waqf administrative authority, yet West Bank Palestinians still face age and permit limits at a site located in territory widely regarded as occupied.