Israeli Ministers Call To Storm Aqsa Mosque On Friday, May 15

Warnings escalated in Occupied Al-Quds over plans by extremist Temple Mount groups to carry out an unprecedented storming of Aqsa Mosque on Friday, May 15, coinciding with the so-called “Hebrew anniversary of Al-Quds occupation.”

“Attention is turning to the occupied city of Jerusalem as Palestinian warnings about an Israeli plan described as the most dangerous in decades intensify”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Quds’ affairs researcher Ziyad Ibhais said the danger this year lies in the coincidence of the occasion with Friday, a day when settler incursions into Aqsa are usually prohibited, and he warned that any attempt to break the status quo would mark a highly dangerous shift like attacks against the mosque.

Al-Jazeera Net

Ibhais said Fridays at Aqsa typically witness the presence of thousands of Palestinian worshippers, making any possible incursion a “battle over sovereignty” through which Israeli authorities seek to impose new realities inside the compound.

He said Temple groups are pursuing three gradual objectives, including forcing an incursion into Aqsa on Friday morning during the usual raid hours between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and if that fails, aiming for a second incursion after Friday prayers between 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Ibhais also tied the effort to attempts by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to storm the covered prayer halls, particularly the Dome of the Rock and the Qibli Mosque.

In occupied East Jerusalem’s al-Bustan neighbourhood, Fakhri Abu Diab stood amid the ruins of his demolished home, saying, “I remember as a child going out with my mother to tend the land, then coming back to this spot to share a cup of tea.”

Middle East Eye reported that the house was demolished by Israeli authorities in 2024, and that it was one of dozens of Palestinian homes razed in the area south of Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of plans to expand Israeli settler projects and biblical-themed parks.

Anadolu Ajansı

Abu Diab, described as a long-time anti-occupation activist, told Middle East Eye, “They demolished my childhood, my memories, and even the scent of my mother.”

The report said al-Bustan is one of the three main sections of Silwan bordering the southern walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, and it said Israeli authorities have accelerated home demolitions and expulsions across East Jerusalem since the genocide in Gaza began in October 2023.

It also cited a figure of around 20,000 Palestinian-owned homes under demolition orders across the city, with residents fearing entire Palestinian communities could disappear in Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, and Ras al-Amoud.

The warnings in Jerusalem were accompanied by claims of political backing for breaking the status quo, with Al Jazeera Net describing an Israeli plan to impose new faits accomplis inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque amid expectations of settler incursions on Friday that coincides with the Nakba anniversary.

“New ‘Nakba’ in Jerusalem: Israel steps up Silwan demolitions near Al-Aqsa Pointing to the corner where he once shared tea with his mother, Fakhri Abu Diab stands amid the ruins of his demolished home in anguish”

Middle East Eye

Al Jazeera Net said the plan includes allowing settlers to raid the mosque on Friday and creating a new evening period of incursions on Thursday that may later become a permanent reality, thereby extending the hours of daily incursions inside the mosque.

It also described the “status quo” at the Al-Aqsa Mosque as keeping the Jordanian Islamic Endowments administration in charge while allowing non-Muslims to visit within defined times and without performing religious rites.

In the same account, Ziyad Ibhais warned that the danger this year lies in the coincidence of the occasion with Friday, which he said makes any attempt to force an intrusion a “battle for sovereignty” aimed at entrenching a new reality inside the Noble Sanctuary.

The report further said that 22 Israeli officials including 9 ministers and 13 Knesset members signed a letter to the police demanding permission to allow an intrusion into Al-Aqsa on the upcoming Friday.