Occupied Jerusalem – SafaThe so-called “Temple Mount organizations,” in cooperation with politicians including Likud MK Amit Halevi, launched a campaign demanding that they storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, May 15, 2026, on the Hebrew anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem.The Jerusalem Governorate warned against the campaign led by the so-called “Temple Mount organizations,” in cooperation with political figures in the occupation government, to impose the storming of Al-Aqsa on Friday.In a statement issued on Monday, the governorate considered this step a dangerous escalation aimed at changing the existing historical and legal reality in Al-Aqsa, and imposing unprecedented precedents that affect the sanctity of the place and its religious status.She stressed that choosing Friday specifically, the day on which the Al-Aqsa Mosque is closed to settler incursions, reflects clear intentions to impose a new reality by force, in a precedent that has not occurred since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967.She noted that these calls coincide with what is called “Jerusalem Day,” which this year falls on Friday, May 15, 2026.This day is usually accompanied by large-scale incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning, and provocative marches in the Old City in the evening, most notably the so-called “Flag March,” which witnesses attacks on the city’s residents and the violation of its streets and alleys.She explained that this occasion coincides with the twenty-eighth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, corresponding to 7-6-1967, which is the day on which the occupation forces occupied the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.She pointed out that its coincidence this year with Friday, in addition to its coinciding with the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, doubles the seriousness of the situation and the possibilities of escalation.She explained that the campaign includes organized actions, most notably the “Temple Mount in Our Hands (Bedino)” organization distributing the personal phone number of the Minister of National Security in the occupation government, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to urge the settler public to contact him directly and demand that Al-Aqsa be opened to incursions on Friday, in an attempt to make the decision appear as if it were a response to “popular demands.”She pointed to the demand by Likud MK Amit Halevi to open Al-Aqsa to settlers on that day, justifying this by what he described as the “right of Jews” to access the “Temple Mount”.She considered these statements to reflect a dangerous escalation, especially in light of his previous positions that included proposing a plan to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque spatially between Muslims and Jews.She added that the “Bedenu” organization launched a petition platform for settlers, which includes a pledge to raise the occupation flag inside the mosque on Friday, in an attempt to mobilize as many people as possible to participate in this attack and impose a new reality within the mosque courtyards.She emphasized that settlers had never been able to storm Al-Aqsa on a Friday since the occupation, but that recent measures, including the long closure that lasted 40 days and included several Fridays during and after Ramadan, encouraged these groups to try to impose new precedents that they consider “achievements”.She stressed that these moves represent a dangerous and systematic escalation and confirm the existence of an official policy aimed at imposing a temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque and undermining Islamic custodianship over it.The governorate warned of the repercussions of these steps, which could ignite unrest in the city and the region.She called on the sons of our Palestinian people to travel to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to be present there in large numbers to thwart these plans.She called on the international community and human rights organizations to assume their responsibilities and exert pressure to stop these violations.She affirmed that Al-Aqsa Mosque will remain the exclusive right of Muslims, and that all attempts to impose a fait accompli by force are rejected and condemned. Al-Aqsa , storming of Al-Aqsa , Temple Mount organizations, occupation of Jerusalem
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