Israel advances plan to seize Palestinian property near Al-Aqsa Mosque
A large Israeli flag at the Western Wall Plaza, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, during the annual Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem’s Old City, 14 May 2026
Samah Watad reports in Middle East Eye on 18 May 2026:
The Israeli government has advanced plans to confiscate Palestinian-owned property near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, in a move Palestinians say is aimed at “Judaising” the city.
On Sunday, ministers approved the creation of an inter-ministerial team to examine the implementation of historic expropriation orders in the area around Chain Gate (Bab al-Silsila in Arabic), a main route leading directly to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli officials and Hebrew media described the move as part of efforts to strengthen Israeli sovereignty in the Old City and secure routes linking Jaffa Gate, the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall.
According to Israeli reports, officials also presented the decision as completing state ownership over properties confiscated after Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem. Government documents repeatedly refer to the “implementation” of historic confiscation orders in the Old City, saying the new committee will examine the legal and planning obstacles that delayed the process for decades.
The orders could affect between 15 and 20 Palestinian-owned homes and shops, according to the Jerusalem municipality.
The Chain Gate road cuts through one of the most crowded and sensitive areas of the Old City. The narrow stone route leads to the western gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and is lined with historic Islamic schools, centuries-old buildings from the Mamluk and Ottoman eras, shops and small restaurants, according to Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Sabri said many of the targeted buildings are linked to Islamic waqf properties and historic institutions surrounding the mosque complex.
“Every measure carried out by the occupation serves the project of changing Jerusalem’s identity,” he told Middle East Eye, describing the move as “another attempt to Judaise the city”.
The decision comes amid growing tensions in occupied East Jerusalem and mounting Palestinian fears of accelerated Israeli measures in the Old City during the genocide in Gaza and wider regional escalation.
Palestinian officials and activists say international attention elsewhere has reduced scrutiny of developments in Jerusalem.
‘Reshaping the area’
According to Jerusalem affairs expert Khalil Tawfikji, many of the targeted properties were first confiscated shortly after Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 under laws relating to “public benefit”.