Ramallah: Dozens of Jewish colonist groups are calling for the raising of the Israeli flag over the Dome of the Rock in Al Haram Al Sharif, in a move that will surely exacerbate ongoing tensions around the Muslim holy site.
On Saturday, Palestinians are commemorating Al Nakba, translated into English as “The Catastrophe”, to mark the creation of the Israeli state in May of 1948 that forced thousands of Palestinians to flee their land.
If the right-wing groups achieve this, it would be the first time the Israeli flag is raised at Al Haram Al Sharif. Jews are allowed to visit Al Haram Al Sharif, but not perform religious rituals there, according to a long-standing status quo agreement. Attempts by the Israel’s regime to change the status quo have led to escalating violence and tensions which claimed the lives of over 210 Palestinians and 33 Israelis.
Israel’s regime took over Al Haram Al Sharif and the entire eastern part of Jerusalem and annexed it during the 1967 Mideast war, but left the Jordanian Waqf Department to administer and run the Muslim holy sites in a historic status quo agreement which governs access to the holy shrine.
Ongoing incursions by Jews on Al Haram Al Sharif premises have been the largest instigator of violence since last year. Palestinians say the Israeli regime is encouraging its citizens to violate the status quo agreement in an effort to change the facts on the ground and erase all Palestinian and Muslim identity from occupied Jerusalem.
Al Haram Al Sharif is built on top of the ancient remnants of the Temple Mount, a site sacred in Judaism, but was destroyed in the 4th century by the Romans, during their rule.
Al Haram Al Sharif site houses both Al Aqsa Mosque which was originally commissioned to be built under Omar, the second Caliph in Islam in the 7th century, and the Dome of the Rock which houses the rock from which Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) ascended to heaven, according to Islamic teachings.