Palestinians have been protesting since the beginning of Ramadan on 13 April against an Israeli ban limiting their access to the full Damascus Gate plaza after Ramadan's night prayer, known as
tarawih, ends.
On 14 April, as Israel marked its national day, Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City and cut the wires of the minaret's loudspeakers. Israel also banned
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, Al-Aqsa's imam, from travelling on 19 April.
That same day, Israeli military police had closed one of the Al-Aqsa Mosque's gates, preventing Palestinians who gathered at Bab Hutta gate in the Muslim quarter from performing dawn prayer on the second Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In 2020, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was shut twice after the coronavirus pandemic hit. The first closure was from mid-March to 31 May, while the second, from mid-September, lasted for a month.
Israel had banned Palestinians from entering the mosque for the whole month of Ramadan in 2020 due to the
Covid-19 pandemic. However, Israeli settlers were
reportedly allowed to visit Al-Aqsa at the time, escorted by Israeli security and intelligence units.
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