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Al-Aqsa Reopens After 40-Day Closure as Israel Extends Settler Visiting Hours

Police cite updated Home Front Command guidance following a truce with Iran.

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 reopened Thursday with about 3,000 Palestinians attending dawn prayers under a large police deployment, the Islamic Waqf and local reports said.
  • Jerusalem police said the decision followed new Home Front Command instructions issued after a two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict.
  • Non‑Muslim visits led by ultranationalist groups resumed on an expanded schedule of 6:30–11:30 a.m. and 1:30–3:00 p.m., which Palestinian officials say advances a time‑based division of the site.
  • During the shutdown, authorities recorded seven Passover attempts to bring animal sacrifices into the compound, the most since 1967, fueling fears of efforts to introduce Jewish rituals there.
  • Under the long‑standing Status Quo, Jordan’s Islamic Waqf manages Al‑Aqsa and non‑Muslims may visit but not pray, so longer visiting hours and ritual pushes are seen as eroding that arrangement.