The Final Struggle for Al-Aqsa: Has It Begun?

No media outlet could ignore the staggering numbers of settlers who stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the days of the Hebrew Passover this year. One of the most notable news stories was the record number of settlers who intruded in a single day, which, according to some news websites, reached a new record of 2,258 settlers, surpassing the previous number of 2,200 invaders recorded during the so-called "Memorial of the Temple's Destruction" in 2022.

A serious development in the activities of Temple groups inside Al-Aqsa Mosque signals a potential change in its religious status quo.

The increasing number of incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque was not a routine or ordinary event. It was not merely a matter of rising figures; rather, it was accompanied by a significant shift in the nature of the incursions carried out by extremist Temple groups. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir gave settlers free rein to openly perform all their religious rituals within Al-Aqsa, without oversight. He even ordered his police forces not to interfere or disturb the settlers in any way while conducting these religious practices, regardless of their nature.

Read also: Occupation rabbis at the heart of the Judaization project of Al-Aqsa.

serious development.

But Ben Gvir did not stop there. He went further by sending one of his followers from the “Jewish Power” party, Knesset member Tzvi Sukkot, to become the first active, sitting MK to perform the so-called “epic prostration” ritual — a full-body prostration on the ground — inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. This marks a significant escalation in the course of events, especially considering that all previous officials who had performed this act at Al-Aqsa were former officeholders. The most notable among them was former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin, who performed the same ritual at Al-Aqsa in August of last year, though at the time, he was no longer serving in the Knesset — unlike Sukkot.

Accompanying this fierce campaign against the "Al-Aqsa" mosque was the release of a very dangerous video at the end of the Passover celebration, showing what resembles a full explosion of the Al-Aqsa mosque, featuring a model of the so-called "Third Temple" intended to replace the "Al-Aqsa." In the video, there is a phrase that says: "Next year in Jerusalem, the Messiah now," accompanied by a hymn from a verse in the Torah that states: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one," which is a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy (6:4) and is commonly used in religious rituals and prayers.

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This is not the first time that these extremist groups have spread such dangerous messages, but what distinguishes this time is the unprecedented advance in the occupation's measures within Al-Aqsa Mosque, and frantic attempts to determine the fate of the mosque before the brutal war on the Gaza Strip comes to an end. These groups see everything that is happening as a rare golden opportunity to realize their messianic dreams within Al-Aqsa, and they are trying to benefit as much as possible from the shock and terror that the occupying state has inflicted on Gaza through unprecedented brutal massacres in the history of the conflict, in order to achieve, during the moments of paralysis that have afflicted the Arab and Islamic world and Palestinian society, rapid steps to practically advance within Al-Aqsa and implement their complete vision for it.

Crucial Facts

For this reason, these matters present us with a series of facts:

The first point is that the connection between what is happening in "Al-Aqsa" and what is happening in the Gaza Strip is indisputable; thus, the fall of Gaza in this war - God forbid - would necessarily mean the demise of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the eradication of the Islamic presence there, through the appropriation of parts of it in favor of settler groups, which will surely seek to benefit from the general state of despair in the surrounding region and its peoples in this situation. Therefore, supporting the steadfastness of Gaza today is integral to supporting the resilience of "Al-Aqsa" in the face of the settlers.

The second point: These groups will not cease their efforts regardless of the circumstances until they reach one of two outcomes: either the full implementation of their vision with complete control over "Al-Aqsa," or to be forcibly halted through a massive popular action that compels the occupying government to retract its plans for "Al-Aqsa" against its will. This has already happened five times in the past ten years, during which the Palestinian people have previously forced the occupation to withdraw against its will on several occasions, starting with the Jerusalem uprising in 2015, followed by the Bab al-Asbat uprising in 2017, the Bab al-Rahma uprising in 2019, the "Sword of Jerusalem" battle in 2021, and the I'tikaf battle in 2022.

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At every one of these stations, the occupying authorities were forced to retreat and delay the project by a few months. In reality, time is on the side of the Palestinian people; the longer the occupation project is delayed in the region, the fewer opportunities there are to realize it. This is what we are betting on today in the repeated calls to delay the settler colonial project in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and within the 1948 borders.

The obligation of the Palestinian people and all supporting forces in this battle is to understand that the occupation does not wait for justifications to strike at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Those who carry a project do not hesitate for a moment to implement it, unless they encounter real obstacles that prevent them from achieving their project. The duty today is to create these obstacles in front of the occupation to restrain and stop it, without waiting for it to take any additional steps.

Recent experiments have proven the failure of the logic advocated by some official Arab institutions, whether in Jerusalem or elsewhere, which called on the Palestinian people to avoid provoking the settlers and the occupation and not to give it justifications to attack Al-Aqsa and to take further steps within it. In reality, the occupation sees these calls as a lifeline for its project and as an incentive for further action.

The occupation is preparing for massive incursions in May and August amidst a shameful Arab and international silence.

We are now facing decisive days, and we have more difficult days ahead for Al-Aqsa Mosque. On May 26, 2025, we will witness what is known as "Jerusalem Day" in the occupier's agenda, a day that will see significant escalation in incursions, in addition to what has come to be known as the "Flag March" around the walls of Jerusalem. As for August 3rd, it will witness what is referred to as the "Anniversary of the Destruction of the Temple," which in 2022 saw a record number of settlers entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, a record that has been broken in these recent days, as previously mentioned.

We should not forget here what the extremist temple groups promised and threatened on this very day, on the eve of the Bab al-Asbat uprising in 2017; when they threatened to bring in 5,000 settlers all at once in one day to the "Al-Aqsa" mosque on the "anniversary of the temple's destruction." The occupation in the Al-Aqsa mosque has shown its fangs and begun to implement its project on the ground, entering a phase of confrontation with Al-Aqsa and its people. Either we break the occupation, or the "Al-Aqsa" will be broken. Anyone who has ever raised the slogan "With our spirit, with our blood, we sacrifice for you, O Al-Aqsa" must know that today is a day of truth, a day when the truthful are distinguished from the liars among all those who have carried this slogan, called for it, and shouted it publicly, and the field is open.

Read the article in Arabic