As Eid al-Adha approaches, calls to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque from extremist Jews have increased.
Palestinian religious and political figures urged the people on Tuesday to position themselves in Aqsa during the eid in order to oppose settlers’ incursions.
The extremist Jewish “Union of Temple Organizations” called for storming the mosque on the occasion of (Tisha B'Av) - an annual fast day in Judaism – next week, which falls on the first day of Eid al-Adha.
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Muhammad Hussein demanded the protection of the mosque, holding the Israeli government responsible for any escalation.
Member of the Fatah Central Committee Jamal Muheisen considered the calls to raid the mosque a challenge to the people’s will and to Jordan, given that it is the guardian of sacred Islamic and Christian sites in the occupied Jerusalem.
Muheisen added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved these calls in an attempt to promote himself for the coming elections as more extremist than religious parties.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants revealed that it is monitoring what has been revealed by the so-called “Union of Temple Organizations” through its social media posts about submitting a request to the minister of internal security to increase the duration of incursions to Al-Aqsa Mosque and from all the gates.
The ministry denounced the extremist calls for the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs to withdraw from Aqsa and enable the Ministry of Religious Services to manage the Temple Mount.
It noted that these calls coincide with a remarkable escalation in raids to the mosque square and targeting of Bab Al-Rahma – this escalation has been archived by several foreign, Israeli and local reports knowing that more than 75 aggressions took place in the past month only.
The ministry urged all parties to deal seriously with these calls and requests that reflect part of the right-wing political party plots against Jerusalem and its sacred sites.
Further, a security Israeli officer told the Arutz Sheva (Channel 7) that despite the decline in security operations in the West Bank, the relative calmness is deceiving. He also accused Hamas of attempting to conduct operations against settlers and armed forces in the West Bank.
