Israel may impose new restrictions on visiting the Aqsa Mosque as Ramadan approaches

The Israeli government was locked in a debate on Monday over whether to increase restrictions on Muslim access to a key mosque complex in Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan, leading to predictions of unrest if the restrictions are maintained.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that a decision had already been made, without disclosing what it was. But two officials briefed on the deliberations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said a final decision would only be made after the government received recommendations from the security services in the coming days.

On Sunday, Israeli ministers debated whether to ban certain members of Israel's Arab minority from attending prayers during Ramadan on the grounds of the Aqsa Mosque, a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

Israel has long restricted access to Al Aqsa for Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and since the start of the Gaza war it has imposed additional restrictions on Arab citizens and residents of Israel. Some had hoped that these limits would be largely lifted during Ramadan, which is expected to start around March 10 – but there is now talk of raising them.

Dan Harel, a former deputy chief of staff in the Israeli army, said in a radio interview that such a move would be “unnecessary, foolish and senseless” and could “set the entire Muslim world on fire.” An Arab-Israeli lawmaker, Waleed Alhwashla, said on social media that it would “likely add unnecessary fuel to the fire of violence.”

According to Islamic tradition, it is from the site of the Al Aqsa complex that the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven, and tens of thousands of Muslims visit the mosque every day during Ramadan. For Jews, it is revered as the Temple Mount because in ancient times it was the site of two Jewish temples that remain central to Jewish identity.

It has also been a focal point of unrest.

Israeli police raids on the site, riots there by young Palestinians and visits by far-right Jewish activists have often been a catalyst for wider violence, including a brief war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.

The debate over new restrictions on the mosque complex for worshipers under a certain age took place as the effects of the war in Gaza continued to be felt across the region on Monday.

In the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, the crew of a cargo ship was forced to abandon ship after it was attacked by members of the Houthi militia, who have fired missiles at ships there and in the Gulf of Aden. solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. The attack on the British ship, the Rubymar, appeared to be one of the most damaging attacks by the Houthis to date.

Most missile and drone attacks on ships have not caused serious damage, but Monday night's attack, which involved two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, was enough to drive the ship's crew off, according to the U.S. military . . A warship part of a US-led coalition responded to a distress call and its crew was taken by another merchant ship to a nearby port, Central Command said in a statement.

In retaliatory strikes, the US-led coalition has repeatedly struck missiles and launchers in Yemen and intercepted drones and missiles, but has so far failed to stop the attacks. The United States attacked five Houthi targets this weekend, including an underwater drone. And on Monday the European Union announced that it would launch its own operation to escort ships and protect them from attack.

In the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces were about to expand their invasion, patients were evacuated from a hospital that Israel said was being used to hide Hamas military operations. Hamas has denied these accusations.

On Monday, the hospital, the Nasser Medical Center, was little more than a shelter for a small, terrified crew of staff and remaining patients. Dozens were evacuated from hospital on Sunday and Monday, and the United Nations said negotiations continued for the Israeli military to allow more people to leave.

The exodus was prompted by a raid last week by Israeli forces who entered the hospital and arrested hundreds of people. Thousands of displaced Palestinians were evacuated before and during the raid, leaving 15 health workers and more than 150 patients inside with little food, few medical supplies and no tap water or electricity, the World Health Organization said Monday.

The war began on October 7 after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israelis. The Israeli land and air strike on Hamas forces in Gaza that followed killed more than 29,000 residents of the enclave, Gaza health officials say.

The move to impose more restrictions on the mosque in Jerusalem was promoted in the Israeli cabinet by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, who has long pushed for more Jewish control over the site and less Muslim access to it. In recent days he has warned that Muslim worshipers could use the mosque to show support for Hamas.

Analysts say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wary of angering Mr Ben-Gvir because his ruling coalition depends on his support. But both Arab leaders and some Jewish Israelis have warned that by allowing Mr. Ben-Gvir to dictate policy at the mosque, Mr. Netanyahu could inflame an already volatile situation.

Ramadan has been a pivotal moment for tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over the years, and on Sunday a member of Israel's war cabinet, Benny Gantz, set the holy month as a deadline for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, warning that the fighting would continue. to Rafah, along the border with Egypt, if the prisoners were not released.

The looming fighting in Rafah has raised fears of further humanitarian catastrophes among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees huddled in the area.

Thomas Voller, Gabby Sobelman And Myra Noveck reporting contributed.