Jerusalem Expert Warns Al-Aqsa Reopening Hides Israeli Plan for Temporal Division

Jerusalem, MINA – The Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to reopen Al-Aqsa Mosque after a 40-day closure was quickly followed by field steps aimed at deepening a temporal division of the holy site, a Jerusalem affairs researcher warned Thursday, according to the Palestine Information Center.

Ziad Ibhais, a specialist in Jerusalem affairs, said that the announcement by the so-called Israeli “Home Front” to reopen Al-Aqsa was immediately accompanied by extremist “Temple” organizations unveiling a new incursion program. The plan extends daily settler incursion hours to six and a half hours—from 6:30 to 11:30 in the morning and again from 1:30 to 3:00 in the afternoon.

“This extension comes in the context of an upward path continuing for years,” Ibhais told the Palestinian Information Center. He explained that settler incursions into the mosque began in 2003 before being organized temporally in 2008 at a rate of three hours per day. Since then, the hours have increased gradually until reaching the current ceiling, reflecting a clear trend toward imposing a new reality inside the mosque.

According to Ibhais, “Temple” organizations explicitly seek to achieve what they call “equal division” where times allocated to intruders equal the times Muslim worshippers are present. He described this as a dangerous transition in the path of Judaizing Al-Aqsa and imposing Israeli sovereignty over it.

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The researcher further noted that the “Home Front” announcement allowing various activities starting at 6:00 a.m. reflects an actual withdrawal of mosque management powers from the Islamic Waqf Department, despite the Waqf being the only party legally authorized to manage Al-Aqsa affairs.

This new reality, Ibhais said, places the Islamic Waqf before a direct challenge, especially after it announced the mosque would reopen “without limiting numbers” starting from the Fajr (dawn) prayer. That announcement stands in contrast to Israeli measures seeking to control entry and exit points and the timing of presence inside the compound.

Ibhais concluded that what is happening is not limited to reopening the mosque after a long closure, but rather represents a new stage of imposing field facts that target changing Al-Aqsa’s identity gradually. He called for keeping the mosque at the forefront of public interest and working to prevent any form of its division.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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