OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
Ziad Ibhais, a researcher specializing in Jerusalem affairs, warned that the Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to reopen Al-Aqsa Mosque after forty days of closure was quickly accompanied by field steps aimed at deepening the reality of temporal division within it, by extending the hours of settler incursions.
Ibhais explained that the announcement by what is known as the Israeli “Home Front” to reopen Al-Aqsa was followed immediately by the extremist “Temple” organizations announcing a new incursion program that includes extending the time period allocated for intruders, to become from 6:30 until 11:30 in the morning, then from 1:30 until 3:00 in the afternoon, which raises the total incursion hours to six and a half hours daily.
He pointed out that this extension comes in the context of an upward path continuing for years, as settler incursions into the Mosque began in 2003, before they were organized temporally in 2008 at a rate of three hours per day, then they began to increase gradually until they reached the current ceiling, which reflects a clear trend toward imposing a new reality inside the Mosque.
He clarified that the “Temple” organizations explicitly seek to reach what they call “equal division,” so that the times allocated for intruders are equal to the times of the presence of Muslim worshipers, which constitutes, according to his description, a dangerous transition in the path of Judaizing Al-Aqsa and imposing the occupation’s sovereignty over it.
He added that the “Home Front” announcement allowing various activities starting from six o’clock in the morning reflects an actual withdrawal of the Mosque management powers from the Islamic Waqf Department, despite it being the only party legally authorized to manage Al-Aqsa affairs.
He noted that this new reality puts the Islamic Waqf before a direct challenge, especially after its announcement of opening the Mosque “without limiting numbers.” starting from the Fajr prayer, in exchange for Israeli measures seeking to control the joints of entry and exit and the timings of presence inside it.
Ibhais concluded by emphasizing that what is happening is not limited to reopening the Mosque after a long closure, but rather represents a new stage of imposing field facts that target changing the identity of Al-Aqsa gradually, calling for keeping the Mosque at the forefront of interest and working to prevent the establishment of any form of its division.
