Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Occupied Jerusalem and a prominent defender of Islamic holy sites, warned that repeated desecrations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Jewish settlers and senior Israeli officials are part of a deliberate Israeli campaign to alter the holy site’s longstanding historical and legal status quo.

Sheikh Sabri accused the Israeli occupation authorities of systematically exploiting Jewish religious occasions to impose new facts on the ground inside the Al-Aqsa compound, all under the protection of occupation police forces.

“These violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque have become official government policy, actively supported by ministers and Knesset members,” Sheikh Sabri stated. He highlighted how Israeli police now openly protect settlers performing religious rituals and Talmudic practices inside the compound while detaining or assaulting Palestinians who dare to object.

The Sheikh specifically condemned the provocative participation of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in settler incursions, describing it as an attempt to assert Israeli sovereignty over the Muslim holy site, incite further extremism among settlers, and encourage Jewish migration to Palestine.

These warnings come amid one of the most serious breaches of the status quo in years. On July 23, 2026, during the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, more than 3,200 to 4,200 Israeli settlers—according to various Palestinian reports—stormed the Al-Aqsa compound. Many performed collective prayers, prostrations, and other Talmudic rituals in multiple areas of the site, including near the Dome of the Rock. Ben-Gvir himself led and participated in the provocative incursion under heavy police protection, while Palestinian worshippers faced severe restrictions and assaults at the gates.

Palestinian officials and the Islamic Waqf Department condemned the events as a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing temporal and spatial division of the mosque and ultimately erasing its exclusively Islamic identity.

Sheikh Sabri urged Palestinians, particularly the people of Jerusalem, to intensify their presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque as a form of resistance and protection. He also called on Arab and Muslim governments to urgently employ diplomatic, political, and economic pressure to force Israel to stop its repeated violations against the third holiest site in Islam.

“Palestinians will never abandon Al-Aqsa Mosque, no matter how intense the attacks become,” Sheikh Sabri has reaffirmed in recent statements, emphasizing the steadfast commitment of the Palestinian people to defend their holy sites.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with its 144-dunum area, remains an exclusively Islamic place of worship under centuries-old tradition and international consensus. Palestinian leaders and rights groups continue to warn that Israeli actions risk igniting a wider religious conflict while systematically undermining Muslim rights in occupied Jerusalem.

As violations persist with official backing, the defense of Al-Aqsa stands as a central pillar of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity. (ILKHA)