Hamas, Israel’s main enemy in the Gaza war, denounced the proposed restrictions and called on Palestinians to mobilize against them.
Al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in the world for Muslims, sits on a hilltop in Jerusalem’s Old City at a location also revered by Jews as the site of their temples of biblical times. Rules about access to the site have been a frequent source of tension, particularly during holidays including Ramadan, which begins this year on or around March 10.
Asked about the possibility of blocking access for Israeli Muslims to Al-Aqsa, Netanyahu’s office said: “The prime minister made a balanced decision to allow freedom of worship within the security needs determined by professionals.”
It gave no further details.
Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right coalition partner in Netanyahu’s government, said those who hate Israel would use the event to show support for the Hamas leadership and incite violence.
“The entry of tens of thousands of haters in a victory celebration on the Temple Mount is a security threat to Israel,” Ben Gvir said.
Hamas called the proposed restrictions “a continuation of Zionist criminality and religious warfare led by the extremist settlers group in the terrorist occupation government against our Palestinian people.”
The group called on Palestinians in Israel, Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank to “reject this criminal decision, resist the occupation’s arrogance and insolence, and mobilize to stand firm and steadfast in Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism said that 50,098 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the course of 2023, the second-highest number of such incursions on record.
The worst single incident happened during the Jewish holidays in October, when more than 8,000 settlers stormed the courtyards of the mosque under the protection of Israeli forces, assaulting worshippers and forcing them to leave, it said.
Since the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the highest number of incursions into the mosque in a single year was 51,483 in 2022.
The worst single incident happened during the Jewish holidays in October, when more than 8,000 settlers stormed the courtyards of the mosque under the protection of Israeli forces, assaulting worshippers and forcing them to leave, the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism said.
The observatory said that the high number of attacks were evidence of a concerted effort by Israel to exert control over the mosque. This, however, was a holy place for Muslims and any such plans were rejected.
The incursions, like the “genocide and displacement of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” was a blatant attack on the Islamic nation, it said.
The observatory seeks to promotes the true Islamic religion and its messages of moderation, tolerance and human brotherhood.
