Iron gate isolates 700 Jerusalemites in Wadi al-Rababa

JERUSALEM — A locked iron gate has been installed on the only road leading to part of the Wadi al-Rababa neighbourhood in Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, isolating about 700 of the neighbourhood's 1,700 residents, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. The governorate said the gate was put up on Tuesday by the Kadisha association, which it described as a settler organisation. It did not give a precise time. Source reporting was published on 20 October 2026.

The governorate said the cut-off area includes patients, elderly people and pregnant women who need regular medical care. It said ambulances, fire engines and emergency vehicles rely on the road to reach the area. Residents now have to use an alternative staircase of about 300 steps, which vehicles cannot use, the governorate said.

According to the governorate, the restrictions restrict residents' movement between their homes and the rest of the city and make access to basic and medical services harder. It warned that the measures threaten residents' safety and could block emergency access. It also warned that they could lead to more parts of the neighbourhood being cut off.

The governorate said it could not confirm whether the gate will remain in place. It did not provide figures on any injuries or incidents linked to the closure. The report does not include a response from Kadisha or from Israeli authorities.

Background

The governorate linked the gate to what it called the "Sembosky fictitious cemetery" on land in Wadi al-Rababa. It said the Israeli authorities began in 2024 to move soil from the Ma'men Allah cemetery and place fake headstones at the site. It said the site, once about 350 square metres, has grown gradually to around 7 to 8 dunams, and that its management passed from the Jewish cemeteries department to Kadisha.

The governorate also said that in 2024 Kadisha issued fines and financial notices to several families in Wadi al-Rababa, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, for parking near the site. It said the families had used the land for decades and that legal proceedings over the fines are continuing.