Gaza Genocide17 June, 20263 min read
Israeli Forces Protect Knesset National Security Committee Head During Ramadan Prayers at Al-Aqsa
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Knesset National Security Committee head entered Al-Aqsa during Ramadan prayers under Israeli protection. Al-Aqsa remains a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ramadan prayers under limits
The first Friday prayers of Ramadan took place at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered under strict Israeli restrictions inside the compound. Annhahar said Israel limited the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the West Bank on Friday to 10,000, allowing only men over 55 and women over 50 as well as children up to 12. The BBC reported that the status quo at the al-Aqsa compound is meant to preserve peace, noting that non-Muslims are allowed to visit but are not allowed to pray there or carry out religious rites.
In Gaza, annhahar said the month’s festive spirit has eluded many Palestinians as they struggle with grief and losses after two years of conflict triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and it added that the Israeli military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The same annhahar account said the offensive began after Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage in the initial attack, with an October 10 U.S.-brokered ceasefire ending major military operations and allowing the release of remaining hostages.
Nationalists flout rules
The BBC described potentially incendiary remarks by Moshe Feiglin, a right-wing nationalist Israeli politician, who said: "The whole land of Israel was promised to the children of God… and this is where we are going to build a new Temple for the entire humanity to come and pray together." The BBC said Feiglin spoke as he came down from the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, where he had been praying and singing religious songs with a group of around 20 other religious Jews. It also quoted Dr Mustafa Abu Sway, the Deputy Head of the Islamic Waqf Council, warning: "Peace without leaving al-Aqsa Mosque alone, is simply opening a Pandora's box."
In annhahar, Israeli police said more than 3,000 officers were deployed across Jerusalem for the Ramadan Friday prayers, and it said their presence was not meant to show aggression or force but to provide help in case of emergencies. annahar added that many Palestinians view the intensified Israeli security presence and the growing visits by religious and nationalist Israeli Jews as a provocation, with fears that Israel intends to reclaim or divide the compound.
Gaza losses and ongoing strikes
annahar said Ramadan in Gaza has unfolded under continued violence, with Palestinians, including many civilians, still being killed in nearly daily strikes that Israel says target militants who threaten or attack its forces. It quoted Ramiz Firwana, a Gaza resident, saying: "All the mosques have been bombed," as he gathered with other worshippers for a Friday sermon and prayers held in a school courtyard. Mohammad Kollab of Khan Younis told annhahar, "We are not a people destined only for destruction and murder," as families sat amid rubble and destruction for iftar on Thursday evening.
The BBC framed the broader stakes at Jerusalem’s holiest site as the status quo under threat, describing how the decades-old understanding assigns custody of the al-Aqsa compound to a Jordanian-administered Islamic body - the Waqf. The BBC also reported that the Israeli prime minister's office has repeatedly said that there has been no change to the Status Quo, while Dr Mustafa Abu Sway warned that any formal change could lead to another explosion of tension between Jews and Muslims.