Palestine warns of Israeli attempts to impose a new religious order
Istanbul (ANTARA) - The Palestine Jerusalem Governorate has warned of Israeli efforts to impose a “new Jewish religious reality” around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
The new religious reality includes Jewish rituals and worship repeatedly conducted at the Bab al-Rahma cemetery, along the eastern wall of the mosque complex.
“The rituals held over recent weeks go beyond seasonal rituals related to Jewish holidays, and have paved the way for turning the site into a Jewish place of worship,” the governorate said in a statement on Monday (14/9).
The governorate is also monitoring social media posts by “Temple Mount groups”, including the creation of a WhatsApp group named “Gate of Mercy, open for us”, which promotes a Jewish religious narrative by attributing sanctity and special significance to the eastern wall of Al-Aqsa, particularly Bab al-Rahma.
Temple Mount groups refer to a number of Jewish nationalist and religious organisations and movements that target Jerusalem, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and call for the construction of the claimed Jewish temple at the site.
The report added that the effort has entered a practical stage through calls for weekly worship at the site, with these steps linked to Uri Ohayon, a former Israeli army officer.
Based on the local government’s monitoring, Ohayon began promoting the idea on 16 August and held the first meeting on 27 August, followed by two further meetings on 3 September and 10 September.
The activities included congregational prayers and rituals beside the graves of Muslims, it said.
“The Al-Aqsa Mosque, with a total area of 35.6 hectares, is a place of worship entirely designated for Muslims,” the governorate stressed.
The governorate also affirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its holy sites, nor the right to impose changes to the mosque’s identity, character, use, or features.
It further warned that allowing such practices to become normal, or treating them as momentary religious rituals, would encourage Temple Mount groups to expand their activities and turn new spots around Al-Aqsa into gathering, ritual, and worship sites.
The move coincides with calls by Israeli “Temple Mount groups” to increase incursions into the Al-Aqsa complex during the Jewish New Year, which began on Friday evening (11/9) and ended on Sunday night (13/9).
Since 2003, Israeli police have unilaterally permitted Israeli citizens to enter the Al-Aqsa complex. Meanwhile, the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem has repeatedly demanded an end to such incursions, but has received no response from the Israeli authorities.
Palestine maintains that Israel has, for decades, intensified efforts to render occupied East Jerusalem “Jewish”, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to erase the Arab and Islamic identity of the area.
Palestine affirms occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of its envisioned state, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions that do not recognise Israel’s occupation of the city since 1967 or its annexation in 1980.
Source: Anadolu