Thousands of Palestinians have performed the first Tarawih prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Israeli police maintained a visible presence across the site.

Worshippers filled the mosque’s covered prayer halls and open courtyards in the evening, while Sheikh Yusuf Abu Sneineh, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, led the evening prayers.

Footage shared online showed Israeli police stationed inside the compound and moving among worshippers during the prayers.

The prayers have come against the backdrop of heightened tensions in occupied East Jerusalem, particularly in and around the Old City and the Al-Aqsa compound, where Israeli authorities have stepped up arbitrary measures, including arrests and temporary bans against religious figures and activists.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Israeli restrictions across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, have intensified ahead of Ramadan, affecting access to places of worship.

According to figures cited by the Jerusalem Governorate, more than 250 orders barring Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa have been issued since the beginning of 2026.

On Monday evening, Israeli police detained Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abbasi, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, before releasing him and issuing a one-week ban from the mosque, renewable, the governorate said.

Israel has intensified assaults in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, since launching its genocide in Gaza in October 2023.