Occupied Jerusalem -

In the latest Israeli violations of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Education Committee in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) decided to oblige schools affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Education to include Al-Aqsa in their educational tours for Jewish students, claiming that it is the “Temple Mount.”

This decision comes after a session held by the committee headed by Temple activist Sharon Haskell, and the opportunity to participate in discussion panels was given to extremist Temple groups.

To move forward with the implementation of the new arbitrary decision, the Education Committee asked the Department of Homeland Security to provide it with a statistic that includes the number of requests submitted to it from schools during the past ten years, requesting that they "break into" Al-Aqsa.

The director of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Omar Al-Kiswani, commented on the new decision by saying that the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem is looking at this incitement against Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a pure right of Muslims, that cannot be divided or partnership.


Violations have different faces

Al-Kiswani added - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that a number of extremist Knesset members are dedicated to working to impose a new fait accompli every period in Al-Aqsa, either by documenting marriage contracts for extremists inside the squares or by deliberately performing the biblical prayers and the ritual of "epic prostration", and other violations that they want from during which a religious war ignited.

He continues by saying, "In addition to the religious war, the occupation is constantly trying to withdraw sovereignty from the Jordanian endowments over this holy site, by interfering with its affairs and its decades-old care."

On how to resist this new decision and other schemes aimed at Judaizing Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Kiswani touches on the importance of pilgrimage to the first two Qiblas and the large presence in its courtyards around the clock, which enhances the Arab and Islamic identity of the place.

He points out that this should complement the past role of the Jerusalem Endowments in documenting violations and submitting them to the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments and to Arab and Islamic countries, to play its role in repelling the continuous incitement against the mosque.


Jordan is the first official

The writer and researcher in Jerusalem affairs, Mazen Al-Jabari, said in the same context that this issue is political par excellence, and the great responsibility in confronting it lies with the Kingdom of Jordan, which has guardianship over the holy sites in Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He added in his speech to Al Jazeera Net, "There is a peace agreement and treaties between the Jordanian and Israeli governments that include a clear text that Israel will respect the historical role of the Jordanian government in the holy places, and therefore the Jordanian government is required to act, especially since it has political and diplomatic relations with Israel, and great cooperation between the two countries in various fields." .

Al-Jabari did not absolve the Palestinian Authority of its responsibility towards these violations as well, saying that it should go with Jordan to international institutions, because all international treaties and laws prohibit Israel from making changes to the "status quo" that has been in place for decades.

Moving in the third direction, the researcher Al-Maqdisi places his responsibility on the Arab and Islamic countries, because this mosque is sacred to all Muslims, not just the Palestinians. It is necessary to move to stop the violations, especially since many countries maintain relations with Israel.

As for the Jerusalemite street, al-Jabari does not see the need to move it, because he is the one who repeatedly failed the occupation’s continuation of its plans inside Al-Aqsa. Perhaps one of his most prominent moves is the popular uprising against the installation of electronic gates at the mosque’s doors in the summer of 2017, and the popular uprising against closing the Bab al-Rahma chapel in the winter of 2019.

He added that "the Jerusalemites, through popular deterrence, can stop these steps, in addition to their role in the reconstruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and focus on being inside it in light of the difficult circumstances it is going through and attempts to convert it from a holy place for Muslims to a holy place for Muslims and Jews, as happened in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron." .

Regarding the decision of the Knesset Education Committee, Al-Jabari stressed that it is fully consistent with all the policies of the Israeli government for several years, especially with regard to the Judaization of Jerusalem and the extension of the control and sovereignty of the occupation over the city, including his attempts to change the reality in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Al-Jabari believes that "the Israeli courts' allowing the Jews to perform silent prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque constituted a leap in the occupation's measures to divide this holy place in time and space, and the committee's decision is the least dangerous, especially with the allocation of huge budgets for the participation of Jewish students in these trips and tours."


Warning of religious war

In turn, the Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Husam Abu Al-Rub, denounced the continued Israeli occupation decisions against holy sites, the latest of which was the inclusion of Al-Aqsa in educational trips for Israeli school students.

Abu Al-Rub stressed that the Israeli measures and decisions will not discourage the Palestinians from continuing to defend their Islamic and Christian sanctities, and will not prevent Muslims from performing worship in their mosques, and will not acquiesce in the fait accompli and the occupation policy.

As for the Council of Endowments, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sanctuaries in Jerusalem, it warned - in a statement - of what extremist Jewish groups are doing, with the support of the extreme right-wing government, of violating the sanctities of Muslims, with the aim of igniting the region with religious wars that the government of Israel bears all the consequences.

The Council called on Muslims all over the world to travel to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque at all times and pray there.