2009 Al-Aqsa Clashes

The Temple Mount is revered by Jews as the location of the First and Second Jewish Temples. The same compound, administered by the Jordanian-funded Jerusalem Waqf as the Haram al-Sharif, contains the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.[7][8] Israeli authorities controlled physical access to the compound while generally prohibiting public prayer by non-Muslims, and a persistent dispute existed between Israeli authorities and Waqf administrators over restrictions on the Waqf's ability to carry out repairs and physical improvements at the site.[8]

During the reporting period, Israeli security restrictions generally prevented most Muslims from the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — from reaching the compound, while Muslims from Gaza were barred entirely.[7] Israeli authorities frequently restricted Friday-prayer access for East Jerusalem residents, commonly barring men under 50 and sometimes women under 45.[7] Waqf officials estimated that average Friday-prayer attendance had fallen from 45,000 before the Second Intifada to no more than 30,000 during this period.[7]

The year opened with additional volatility. Mass demonstrations by Palestinians in Jerusalem occurred mainly during Israel's Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, with hundreds of Palestinian youths gathering in East Jerusalem during the Gaza operation.[5] Broader protests against Israeli settlement activity, particularly in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, also widened considerably during 2009 and into 2010, with Israeli and Palestinian activists holding weekly demonstrations at those sites.[5]

Beginning in early 2009, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority both incorporated Al-Aqsa-related messaging into broader political campaigns. On February 3, 2009, a Hamas forum displayed the message "Al-Aqsa in danger," and in March 2009 a Hamas forum published a poster encouraging construction-vehicle attacks in connection with the "Jerusalem, Capital of Arab Culture" campaign.[3] A Hamas periodical subsequently published an April 2009 editorial titled "We must win the campaign for Jerusalem!" calling on what it termed the "forces of resistance" to wage a "bloody battle" and die as martyrs at the gates of several Jerusalem neighborhoods, including Silwan, Shuafat, and Sheikh Jarrah.[3]

On April 15, 2009, the Palestinian Authority issued a call on the Palestinian public to come to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and resist what it described as attempts by Jewish extremists to take over the mosque compound.[3] The campaign was led by Dr. Rafiq al-Husseini, director of the office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and was presented as part of the "Jerusalem, Capital of Arab Culture 2009" initiative.[3] The Palestinian Authority and Hamas administration in Gaza both used Jerusalem-related issues — including house demolitions in Silwan and Israeli archaeological excavations — to reinforce political messaging about the struggle over Jerusalem.[3]

During Passover in April 2009, Israeli police escorted Jewish activists onto the compound. Waqf officials contended that police allowed Jewish groups to enter and worship, viewing this as an attempt by Israeli authorities to exert greater control over the site. Unlike in earlier reporting periods, however, these actions did not produce violent clashes between Israeli police and Muslims at the compound.[8]

On May 22, 2009, a group identified as Jewish extremists vandalized a Muslim cemetery near the Haram al-Sharif. On the same day, a separate Jewish group carrying Israeli flags and wearing shirts depicting the Jewish Temple attempted to force its way into the compound; Israeli police turned the group away, and credible reports indicated that members subsequently vandalized Palestinian-owned shops in the Old City.[8]

A detailed account concerns the violence of September 27, 2009. Members of a right-wing Jewish organization declared their intention to enter the Temple Mount compound that day, but Israeli police blocked them from doing so. A group of predominantly Christian French tourists then arrived for a previously arranged tour, after which hundreds of Palestinian worshippers reportedly threw stones at them.[4] Police responded with tear gas. Approximately 30 people were wounded — roughly half police officers and half Palestinians.[4] Police rescued the tourists and arrested some of the rioters, leaving the atmosphere in and around Jerusalem's Old City tense.[4]

The Congressional Research Service described the broader September–October 2009 period as marked by altercations at the Temple Mount stemming from an incident at the site at the end of the Jewish high-holiday season, and characterized the holy sites of Jerusalem as governed by delicate arrangements that remained a persistent source of tension.[2] A Jerusalem Post retrospective noted that restrictions on access to the Al-Aqsa compound during Ramadan in 2009 preceded violence a few weeks later.[1]

Separately, in October 2009, stones were thrown at Jewish worshippers traveling to pray at the tomb of Shimon HaTzadik in Sheikh Jarrah.[6] Increased tension in that neighborhood was attributed to the eviction of Palestinian families and the announcement of building plans by Jewish settler organizations. The Knesset Internal Affairs Committee subsequently discussed police conduct toward Sheikh Jarrah demonstrators and escalating stone-throwing, visited the neighborhood, and called for increased police presence and a permanent police post.[6]

The 2009 episodes did not resolve the broader question of access and governance at the Temple Mount. The U.S. Department of State's 2009 Human Rights Report documented continuing disputes between Israeli authorities and Muslim administrators of the Haram al-Sharif over restrictions on Waqf repair and improvement work, as well as the ongoing effect of permit requirements that prevented virtually all West Bank Palestinians and many male Muslim Jerusalem residents below the usual age threshold of 50 from attending Friday prayers at the site.[9]

The compound was occasionally closed entirely during the reporting period, often following skirmishes between Arab youth and Israeli police.[7] Israeli police generally prohibited public prayer by non-Muslims while escorting Jewish visitors, and some Jewish groups attempted religious acts such as prayer and prostration during these escorted visits. Waqf officials condemned the visits, and in some cases the visits initiated violence.[7]

A 2024 Maariv opinion article groups 2009 with a sequence of Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa-related riots following earlier incidents in 1990, 1996, and 2000, and preceding further episodes in 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023. It characterizes such events as occurring "almost always" during Ramadan and involving recurring narratives: claims that "Al-Aqsa is in danger," accusations regarding Jewish activity or archaeological work, restrictions on Jewish access, and subsequent Arab riots.[10]

The events of 2009 are subject to competing characterizations reflecting broader disagreements over Jerusalem's status. Palestinian Authority and Hamas messaging portrayed municipal demolitions of illegally built houses in Silwan as efforts to "Judaize Jerusalem" and Israeli archaeological excavations as a plot to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The cited analysis presents these as political messages rather than established findings.[3] Accounts of the September 27 incident also differ in emphasis: some focus on the declared intentions of a right-wing Jewish group, while others emphasize stone-throwing against Christian tourists as the immediate act of violence.[4]

The label "2009 Al-Aqsa clashes" as a unified historical event is not consistently used by the available sources. They separately document a mobilization campaign in April, incidents in May, and altercations in September and October without establishing that all were parts of one discrete clash.[2] Sources also use both Temple Mount and Haram al-Sharif for the compound, which contains sites central to Jewish and Muslim religious traditions.[8]