Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas):

▪ The escalation of settlers’ incursions and rituals in the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a dangerous attempt to change the existing historical and legal status quo and impose a new reality.

▪ We warn of the escalating danger to the Al-Aqsa Mosque with the Jewish holiday season and the exploitation by the occupation authorities and extremist “Temple” groups to mobilize wide incursions and perform Talmudic rituals publicly under the protection of the occupation police and with political backing from its government in an attempt to bring about fundamental changes to the historical and legal status quo.

▪ Settlers’ incursions and public, collective religious rituals in the mosque’s courtyards are an assault on its sanctity and an aggression against its holiness; what is happening is no longer passing incursions but a gradual path that began with expanding incursions and increasing numbers and then moved to performing prayers, prostration, blowing the shofar, singing, dancing, reading religious texts and bringing in offerings, وصولًا إلى مشاركة ministers and Knesset members and attempts to entrench public Jewish prayer and impose a new reality inside the mosque.

▪ This escalation is an extension of a path that has, in recent years, seen a continuous rise in the number of those storming the mosque and a qualitative expansion in the nature of the rituals and violations, revealing the efforts of the “Temple” groups, under the sponsorship of the occupation government, to move from imposing incursions to imposing rituals and entrenching a new religious and political reality that targets the Islamic identity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and undermines the existing historical and legal status quo.

▪ We warn against exploiting the current holiday season to intensify these violations and tighten restrictions on the entry of worshippers and the removal of male and female steadfast worshippers, which paves the way for larger incursions and more public and organized rituals.

▪ We affirm that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in its entire area of 144 dunams is a purely Islamic mosque, and there is no legitimacy for the occupation or for its measures and attempts to impose a new fait accompli in it. We hold the occupation government fully responsible for the consequences and repercussions of this aggression against our holy sites.

▪ Our Palestinian people, who have made sacrifices in defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, its identity, and its holy sites, will remain committed to their right to protect it and defend it, and the occupation must understand that attacking Al-Aqsa and violating its status and sanctity has always been a cause of anger and popular uprisings.

▪ We call on our people, especially our people in Jerusalem and in the occupied interior, to intensify their journeys to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to remain steadfast there, strengthen the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, and confront the occupation’s and its settlers’ plans with force.

▪ We call on the Arab and Islamic governments and peoples, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab League to activate their role and move urgently and effectively to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque and support the people of Jerusalem and Palestine. We call on the international community and the United Nations to assume their responsibilities in stopping these violations and preventing the occupation from imposing new realities in Al-Aqsa.