Israel temporarily stops non-Muslim visits to Al-Aqsa after de-escalation calls

Israel has halted visits by Jewish people and other non-Muslims to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound until the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends, which will be on either 20 or 21 April.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that visits to Al-Aqsa - Islam's third-holiest site - would be stopped following Western  calls for de-escalation at the mosque after Israeli forces raided it last week, Reuters reported.

The halt to visits follows increased Israeli aggression towards Palestinians since Ramadan began, including an especially violent storming of Al-Aqsa last week that saw hundreds of Muslim worshippers injured or arrested.

Israel struck Gaza and Lebanon in the days immediately after the storming, in retaliation to rocket fire into northern Israel from these areas.

It has also kept up its deadly raids in the occupied West Bank, killing two Palestinians, Saud Abdullah Saud and Mohammed Abu Dira, near a settlement on Tuesday.

Israeli forces also killed Mohammad Fayez Balhan, a 15-year-old Palestinian, in the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho on Monday.

Around 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers so far in 2023.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials on Israel’s new ban on Al-Aqsa visits by non-Muslims, which Tel Aviv has imposed in previous years.

But Israeli far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir denounced Netanyahu’s move, stating: "When terrorism strikes us we must strike back with great force, not surrender to its whims".

The long-standing 'status quo' arrangement of Al-Aqsa, which Israel says it maintains, allows non-Muslims to visit but not pray at the site.

However, Israeli extremists have stormed the mosque on a regular basis and performed provocative religious rituals in violation of the arrangement.

Some of the extremists wish to demolish the mosque and build a Jewish temple which reportedly stood there in ancient times in its place.

Agencies contributed to this report.