Ramallah: The Israeli regime has allowed an unprecedented number of its Jewish citizens to raid Al Haram Al Sharif, the holy Muslim shrine in occupied East Jerusalem, and to freely pray and perform their rituals inside the site.
A large number of Israelis raided Al Haram Al Sharif over the three-week holiday period in round-the-clock incursions into the holy shrine.
“Jewish [raiders of Al Haram Al Sharif] reported incredible relaxation of restrictions on prayer and religious rituals in the holy shrine,” reported the Israeli daily, Haaretz. “For example, police did not interrupt anyone who was praying in the holy shrine.”
Haaretz reported that more than 3,000 Jews raided Al Haram Al Sharif during the Jewish holiday period, and that more than 11,000 Jews have raided the holy site since the beginning of the year. This is believed to be the highest number of Jewish incursions since Israel occupied and annexed the holy city and Al Haram Al Sharif during the 1967 war.
Since the beginning of the occupation, the Jordanian Waqf Department has been running and overseeing the holy shrine on behalf of the Jordanian government, which signed a status quo agreement with Israel. The terms of this agreement state that Jews may visit the holy shrine, but are strictly banned from praying there.
“Israel has been working hard to make gradual achievements on the ground in order to change the agreed upon status quo,” said revered Muslim cleric Shaikh Ekrema Sabri, who heads the Supreme Islamic Council. “The real problem is not the daily incursions, but the official attitude of the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in full support of changing that status quo.”
Shaikh Sabri noted that allowing the Jews to pray and perform their rituals inside the shrine is one of Israel’s chief aims adding that Israeli police have paved the way for this in a step-by-step policy of arresting defenders of Al Haram Al Sharif and gradually emptying the shrine of all Muslims.
Israel has been working hard to stop Palestinian defenders of Al Aqsa Mosque, known as Al Murabiteen, from entering Al Haram Al Sharif. The Murabiteen have been effective in discouraging Jewish raids on the Muslim holy site, and Israel has taken draconian measures to curb their presence there, including denying them medical insurance, denying access to the holy site, and at times even revoking their Israeli residence permits.
Several Jewish groups have also been actively campaigning to encourage raids on Al Haram Al Sharif.
“The aggressive and inhumane policies Israel has implemented at the holy shrine will never secure them any rights or any kind of legitimacy at the undisputedly owned Muslim property of Al Haram Al Sharif,” Shaikh Sabri told Gulf News.
