Jerusalem Researcher Warns of Escalating Attacks on Al-Aqsa

Jerusalem, MINA – Palestinian Jerusalem affairs researcher Ziad Ebheis warned on Monday that the assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque is open-ended and escalating, describing it as a decisive war aimed at erasure and final settlement.

Speaking after seven days of violations during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, marked by the imposition of Jewish identity and Talmudic rituals inside the Al-Aqsa compound, Ebheis noted that Israel’s deputy prime minister has pledged to expand the hours during which settlers are allowed to enter Al-Aqsa.

He described this as part of a long-standing plan to impose a full temporal division of the holy site between Muslims and Jews.

Ebheis explained that attempts to enforce such a division date back to 2012-2013, with legislation proposed to allocate specific daily and weekly hours exclusively for Jews.

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He added that Israel attempted to impose this plan on the ground in 2015, an action that helped trigger an Intifada.

According to Ebheis, Israeli Justice Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin publicly reviewed “major changes” imposed at Al-Aqsa in recent years and personally committed to extending settlers’ incursion and prayer hours into the evening. The researcher stressed that this pledge confirms that the 2012 plan for full temporal division has become the operational framework for the Israeli government, coordinated with Temple Mount groups.

Ebheis pointed out the contradiction between Arab diplomatic channels receiving assurances about preserving the “status quo” and Israeli authorities simultaneously tightening sieges on Al-Aqsa and steadily expanding incursion hours, which have increased from three hours in 2008 to over six hours by 2024.

He warned that Israel’s current government is now openly committed to dividing Al-Aqsa and completing its Judaization. Ebheis emphasized that the current phase represents a decisive stage aimed at erasing Islamic presence and identity, marking an existential battle for Al-Aqsa.

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He also documented an aggressive settler incursion on Sunday, showing collective rituals and dancing sweeping through large areas of the compound. Ebheis concluded that these actions deepen the imposition of Jewish identity at the site, sideline Islamic authority, and entrench Israeli police as the absolute controlling power, paving the way for full Judaization.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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