OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Hamas Movement warned on Tuesday that the ongoing Israeli closure of Aqsa Mosque for the eleventh consecutive day, along with the prevention of Tarawih prayers and spiritual retreat (i‘tikaf) during the holy month of Ramadan, represents a dangerous and unprecedented step not seen since 1967.
In a press statement, Hamas said the measure constitutes a blatant violation of freedom of worship and a provocative escalation against Islamic holy sites.
The Movement cautioned against the consequences of keeping the Mosque closed and called on the Muslim community to take urgent action to protect Aqsa and stop the ongoing Israeli violations against the sacred site.
Hamas said the closure is being carried out under “weak pretexts” as part of broader Israeli policies, coinciding with rising incitement by extremist Zionist “Temple groups” that advocate actions against the holy site.
The Movement added that the continued closure reveals the seriousness of Israeli plans aimed at altering the religious, historical, and legal status quo at Aqsa Mosque, including attempts to impose temporal and spatial divisions at the site.
Hamas also said that extremist Jewish groups are trying to advance their agenda by taking advantage of the closure to perform Talmudic rituals in the Mosque’s courtyards.
The Movement reiterated that Israel has “no sovereignty or legitimacy over any part of Aqsa Mosque,” stressing that the site is an exclusively Islamic waqf.
Hamas called on Arab and Muslim countries, governments, peoples, and organizations to take urgent steps to prevent Israel from implementing its plans against Aqsa and to support Palestinians in Occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces dispersed a number of Palestinians on Tuesday evening as they attempted to reach the gates of Aqsa Mosque to pray as close as possible to the site while it remained closed.
Local sources said Israeli forces were heavily deployed around the Mosque’s entrances, preventing people from approaching and pushing several worshipers away by force.
The closure has remained in place since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, during which Israeli authorities have prevented Palestinians from accessing the Mosque or performing prayers inside.
At the same time, Palestinian activists have continued calling on people to gather and pray at the closest points to Aqsa’s gates in an effort to challenge the closure and prevent Israel from enforcing restrictions on worship at the Mosque during Ramadan.
