Cops forcefully disperse hundreds holding Eid al-Fitr prayers outside Old City amid Al-Aqsa closure

Police forcefully disperse hundreds of Muslim worshipers outside the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City earlier today, where Eid al-Fitr prayers were held in light of the wartime closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, typically sees tens of thousands of Muslims pray inside the mosque and in the courtyards surrounding the holy site, located atop the Temple Mount.

This year, the area is closed, along with other holy sites in the Old City such as the Western Wall and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, due to the ongoing war with Iran.

In footage from earlier today, officers are seen using tear gas and batons against the crowd of Palestinians, running after individuals who had gathered to pray outside Herod’s Gate.

At least one individual was arrested, Haaretz reports.

Watch: Israeli police attacked Palestinians, gathering to pray outside Jerusalem’s old city, for the first day of Eid Al Fitr. Since the start of the war with Iran, Israel closed Al Aqsa compound and the other holy sites in the city pic.twitter.com/YXyPZApRGn

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) March 20, 2026

Authorities maintain that they are solely concerned with enforcing Home Front Command wartime guidelines, but critics have accused law enforcement of operating on a double standard when it comes to Jewish versus Arab public gatherings.

Earlier this week, the Foreign Press Association lambasted police for what it called an “unprovoked assault” on journalists covering evening prayers outside the walls of the Old City, which left a CNN producer with a fractured wrist.

Officers detained several reporters, damaged photographic equipment and confiscated memory cards, the statement read.