Palestinian Organizations, Islamist Figures, And Hamas Warn Of 'Unprecedented Incursion' By Jews Into Al-Aqsa Mosque During Upcoming Holidays, Urge Palestinians To March To Al-Aqsa And Remain There

In the past few days, the Palestinian Scholars Association (PSA), multiple Islamist figures and Hamas issued statements and published posts warning that Jewish religious groups are planning an "unprecedented incursion" into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming holidays and calling on Palestinians to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque and remain there.

Palestinian Scholars Association (PSA) Social Media Campaign Warning Of "Unprecedented Incursion"

Using its social media platforms on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, The Istanbul-based Palestine Scholars Association (PSA) published dozens of statements featuring speakers warning that Jewish religious groups will break into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming holidays season and calling on Palestinians to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque and remain there.

On September 17, 2022, the PSA Twitter account published a poster including a statement by Palestinian professor Mohsen Saleh urging Palestinians living in Israel "to double their efforts in protecting Jerusalem and the sacred places," saying: "Though we appreciate your remarkable role, the escalating Zionist attacks on Al-Aqsa and on Jerusalem require more efforts and sacrifices."[1]

On September 19, 2022, PSA published an announcement for its upcoming conference titled "The Sobbing of Al-Aqsa in the Shadow of the Hebrew Holidays," which was scheduled to take place on September 20, 2022, via Zoom. Commenting on the announcement, PSA wrote: "The settlers are planning to organize the largest incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Zionist holiday season which starts on September 26 and ends on October 17, 2022."[2]

Under the hashtag "Al-Aqsa is in danger," PSA shared a short video on September 20, 2022, featuring Ahmad Abu Halbiyah, the director of the Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa committee of the Palestinian Legislative council, calling on "the scholars of Palestine and the Arab and Muslim ummah to act urgently and immediately to exercise your required duty... to defend Al-Aqsa mosque and protect it against the Zionist plots of the influx of Zionist incursion during the so-called Jewish holidays beginning from the Hebrew new year on the 26th of this month until the 17th of October. Therefore, you must assume your role in mobilizing the masses and the Arab and Muslim nations to defend our most precious holy place in Palestine and in Sham, which is the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and do not fall short in fulfilling this obligation."[3]

In another PSA video, association member Osama Fathi Abu Bakr called on "the entire world to stop the stupidity of the Jews and to stop the hateful Jews from breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Aqsa Mosque is a blessed Islamic place that is considered sacred to all Muslims and this action will lead to a disaster in the region. We the Muslims will never accept that Al-Aqsa, which is the first of the two Qiblas [i.e., directions of prayer in Islam] to Muslims and the place from which our prophet Muhammad took off in his night journey to Heaven be threatened... We warn the Zionists that this action will blow up the region and we call on our people in Jerusalem to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque." Abu Bakr also called on Muslims to raise their voices and threaten the Zionists and any non-Muslim who "thinks of breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque. We would sacrifice our souls for this place... we will give our wealth and our souls for the sake of Al-Aqsa Mosque."[4]

In a video published on YouTube on September 20, titled "The Ummah's duty to counter the upcoming incursion into the blessed Aqsa Mosque," PSA director Nawwaf Takrouri said: "The Zionists, including their rabbis, the government, the Knesset, and all of their capabilities, are planning to carry out the worst form of aggression and to intensify their aggression against the blessed Aqsa Mosque during these days with their incursion and to practice their distorted rituals on the pure soil of Jerusalem and the blessed Aqsa... Oh Muslims, without a doubt, the attack on Al-Aqsa is an attack on each one of us. [It is] an attack on his body, an attack on his female relatives, an attack on his religion and on his holy places."[5] Takrouri then praised the people of Jerusalem, saying they were honored to be chosen by Allah to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and called on them to "carry out all forms of resistance against this criminal enemy to defend your Aqsa and you are capable of that... defend it with everything you have."

Takrouri called on those who live in Israel to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque "to take part in the honor of defending it." To those who live in the West Bank, Takrouri encouraged them to go to Al-Aqsa through the mountains, regardless of how much it may cost, saying: "You can sneak into it even if it costs you high prices and takes huge efforts." Addressing the people of Gaza, Takrouri encouraged them to keep their hands of the trigger and continue resisting for Al-Aqsa. To the nations of countries surrounding Israel, he called on them to organize marches "from Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon, and from the land surrounding Palestine toward the borders so that the enemy would know that the ummah is present and is prepared. And these marches should be led by the scholars of the ummah, thinkers, intellectuals, and sincere politicians... to disturb the sleep of the enemy and to let it know that we will not remain silent against the attacks on Al-Aqsa." Addressing Muslim scholars, Takrouri said: "You bear the responsibility to articulate, incite, mobilize and to lead the march particularly at the time of lack of significant political support. Your duties and roles are to take actions, lead nations, be on the frontlines, and encourage nations to defend Al-Aqsa."

In another video, PSA featured Naseem Yaseen, the president of Palestine Scholars League, who claimed that tens of thousands of Jews will enter the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque where they will practice their religious rituals under the protection of the Israeli police. Yaseen then called on Muslim scholars, preachers and institutions to "assume their responsibilities during this time and stop the Zionist enemy so that the entire world and the Zionist enemy know that Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line that cannot be crossed and that requires huge efforts from scholars and nations as well as the support of Islamic institutions worldwide."[6]  

In addition to the short videos, PSA published posters promoting its call to Muslims to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque. On September 21, 2022, PSA's Twitter account published a poster showing men carrying the Israeli flag. The poster includes the following statement: "Five days remaining for the massive incursion of the Zionists into Al-Aqsa Mosque."[7] Commenting on the poster, the PSA used the hashtags "Al-Aqsa is in danger" and "the protectors of Al-Aqsa" and wrote: "Massive incursions and plans to blow the horns and slaughter the claimed sacrifices in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Oh Muslims, how long will you remain silent? Revolt for its sake and do not  allow the occupation and the herds of settlers to carry out their plots."[8]

Hamas Warns That Incursion May Lead To Regional Religious War

Hamas has also joined the campaign and several of its officials delivered statements warning of incursion during the upcoming holidays and called on Palestinians to march to Al-Aqsa. In a September 17 video, Senior Hamas Official Mushir Al-Masri said: "What must be done by the factions and the people is to continue marching to Al-Aqsa Mosque and to ensure that Al-Aqsa Mosque is the core of the conflict. The Zionist enemy cannot at any given time impose a fait accompli policy to an alert nation and a resistance whose fingers are on the trigger."[9]

A few days later, on September 22, Mohammad Hamada, Hamas spokesman in Jerusalem, called on the people living in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and those living in Israel to march to and take part in ribat[10] in Al-Aqsa Mosque."[11] Hamada condemned Israel and accused it of carrying out a vicious campaign "against those who intend to take part in ribat in Jerusalem and in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to vacate it from its protectors and to pave the way for the incursion scheduled to take place in a few days during the Hebrew holidays."[12]

After making a similar call to the people living in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar warned that an upcoming incursion may lead to "a regional religious war." In a statement aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, Al-Zahar said: "Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a huge religious value not only to the Palestinians but also to 1,700,000,000 Muslims worldwide... It is an integral part of our religious ideology and national values. The intensive forms of aggression and the accelerating pace in the Zionist Judaization plots that have been taking place in Jerusalem and in Al-Aqsa are considered blatant aggression against the religious and Islamic status of the city and the mosque, and the occupation bears full responsibility for the consequences of these violations and the possibility of dragging the entire region into a full-blown religious war that will end with the demise of the occupation."[13]

Other Calls To March To Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel-based Islamist leader Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib published a video on his Twitter account and YouTube channel on September 20, repeating the claim that Jewish religious groups are planning an "unprecedented incursion" during the holiday and calls on Palestinians to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque and take part in ribat there. In the video, Al-Khatib stressed that Al-Aqsa Mosque is a property that is owned by Muslims and to which non-Muslims have no right. According to Al-Khatib, the Israeli incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque will reach its peak level "early next week during the Jewish holiday season on the 26th and 27th of this month and the upcoming holidays such as the Hebrew new year and other holidays. Jewish religious groups have called for an unprecedented incursion and also to horn blowing in the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is an evil act that Allah detests and our people should detest, therefore, we ought to at least... fortify its presence and perseverance with solid and a permanent ribat by tens of thousands during these days... this holiday season should be a season of Ribat and mobilization and massive presence of people to remain in the blessed Aqsa."[14]   

Some residents of the city of Jerusalem have participated in the campaign and called on Palestinians to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque and remain there. For example, Jerusalem resident Khadeja Khuways, who has taken part in the Ribat campaign in Al-Aqsa Mosque multiple times and who has over 99,000 Twitter followers published a post on September 21, under the hashtag "We will protect [Al-Aqsa] with our Ribat" saying: "We should direct our hearts and bodies toward the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and intensify our Ribat as the groups of the temple are planning intense incursion both quantitatively and qualitatively to Al-Aqsa Mosque, so is there a responder to the call of Al-Aqsa?"[15]