Occupied Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Governorate has warned of attempts by the so-called "Temple" groups to establish a "new Jewish religious foothold" in the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to Judaize the "Gate of Mercy" as occurred with the Western Wall. It considered that the rituals carried out by settlers in the Bab al-Rahma cemetery adjacent to the eastern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the outside, especially during the past weeks, come within the framework of an organized process that goes beyond the seasonal rituals associated with Jewish holidays and paves the way for turning the site into a "repeated Jewish prayer point."
The governorate confirmed in a statement today that it has monitored propaganda publications spread by the so-called "Temple" groups via social media, in addition to the creation of a group on the WhatsApp application called "Open the Gates of Mercy for Us," which reveals the promotion of a Jewish religious narrative that considers the eastern side of the Al-Aqsa Mosque wall, especially the Gate of Mercy, as having special sanctity and importance, Based on beliefs that link the Gate to what is called the 'Temple' and the 'Shekhinah,' in addition to beliefs regarding the 'Awaited Messiah' and the return of the 'Shekhinah,' in an attempt to reintroduce the Gate of Mercy as a Jewish religious site that can be accessed and prayed at, emphasizing that the greatest danger lies in this propaganda moving toward practical steps, through calls to hold a weekly 'Selichot' prayer at the site.
The governorate pointed out that these movements are directly connected to "Uri Ohayon," a former officer in the occupation army, who, according to its monitoring, began promoting the idea on August 16 of last year, and organized the first gathering on the 27th of the same month, followed by two gatherings on September 3 and 10 of this year. These gatherings witnessed the performance of prayers and collective rituals and the blowing of the "shofar" next to the graves of Muslims.
The Jerusalem Governorate affirmed that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunams, is a purely Islamic place of worship, and that its sanctuary includes all its courtyards, prayer areas, walls, gates, and landmarks. It also confirmed that the Gate of Mercy is one of the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and is located within its eastern wall. Furthermore, the occupying authorities have no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and its holy sites, nor do they have the right to impose any changes on the identity, nature, uses, or landmarks of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Governorate warned that allowing the normalization of such practices or treating them as mere transient religious rituals would encourage the groups of the so-called "Temple" to expand their movements and to turn new points around the Al-Aqsa Mosque into sites for gatherings, rituals, and prayers.
She emphasized that what is happening at the Gate of Mercy represents an organized process to impose a new reality around the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, beginning with the normalization and repetition of rituals, then turning them into a permanent presence and customary practice, aiming to entrench new facts on the ground and enforce a change in the identity and religious nature of the place, in a dangerous and deliberate transgression of the existing historical and legal status.
