New Delhi: Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched a barrage of rockets into Israel Saturday, part of an unprecedented aerial and ground attack codenamed ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’.
Mohammed Deif, the shadowy commander of Hamas’s military arm, declared that the operation was a result of Israel’s “desecration” of the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem — a site sacred to both Judaism and Islam in the Old City of East Jerusalem.
On 4 October, dozens of Israeli “settlers” had forced their way into the Al-Aqsa mosque, as was widely reported. Jordan, whose Jerusalem Waqf Council manages the Al-Aqsa complex, even sent a “memo of protest” to the Israeli embassy in Amman, against the “incursions by hardliners, settlers and Knesset members into the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection”. The memo was shared by the Jordanian Foreign Minister on X.
The memo of protest also raised the issue of imposition of restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshippers into the mosque by Israeli police forces as well as the escalating attacks on Christians in East Jerusalem.
In April, Israeli police forces stormed the mosque complex twice, reportedly detaining and removing over 350 people, during the holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday. The Jerusalem Waqf Council had alleged that police entered the mosque and tried to evacuate worshippers by firing rubber bullets and using stun grenades.
The Israeli police, in turn, said dozens of youngsters brought rocks and firecrackers into the mosque and tried to barricade themselves inside.
This incident led to condemnation of the Israeli police from a myriad of world leaders, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to name a few. The US too called for the de-escalation of the situation, with Jordan, Egypt and Türkiye all condemning the incident, according to reports.
ThePrint explains the history of the Al-Aqsa mosque — the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism — that has became the focal point of Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
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Significance of Al-Aqsa mosque in Islam, Judaism
In 1967, after the Six-Day War, Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, thereby seizing control of the Al-Aqsa complex from its Arab neighbours. Under international law, this area is considered occupied territory, while Israel sees it as disputed territory.
Known to Muslims as the Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound is home to the Al-Aqsa mosque as well as the Dome of the Rock — the golden-topped dome — besides being one of the oldest known mosques. It is from here Prophet Muhammad is believed to have ‘ascended to heaven’. After the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered to be the third holiest site in Islam.
The compound is revered by the Jews as the place where the First and Second Temples, believed to have been constructed almost 3,000 years ago, stood. In its current form, the Second Temple is believed to have been first opened in 516 BCE and expanded by King Herod between 20-18 BCE. The holiest site in Judaism, it was eventually destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, with only a portion of the Western wall remaining standing.
The area, according to the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a global advocacy organisation for the Jewish people, served as the spiritual home of Judaism for centuries and remains a “focal point” of Jewish liturgy and collective identity.
The Al-Aqsa compound is managed by the Jerusalem Waqf Council, first established by Saladin — famous Muslim military leader and founder of the Ayyubid Caliphate — in 1187 CE, following the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims during the crusades. The current version of the Waqf Council is managed by the Kingdom of Jordan.
Who controls Al-Aqsa complex
After the 1967 war, Israel took control of Jerusalem, but the then minister of defence Moshe Dayan ensured that the administration of the site remains in the hands of the Islamic Waqf, according to the AJC.
The “status quo” that was followed for decades after the war is that security is controlled by Israel, while management and administration remains in hands of the Waqf and by extension Jordan and Palestine. The Waqf is responsible for the day-to-day management of the complex as well as the protection of the religious and cultural heritage of the site.
Non-Muslim visitors are allowed to access the compound at certain times, while Muslims are allowed to visit the mosque at all times during the day and are the only ones allowed to worship at the site.
However, it has been reported that Israeli security forces have, on occasion, restricted access to the mosque compound and as was seen in April, also evacuated worshippers.
Second Intifada & 2021 clash
In 2000, Ariel Sharon, the then leader of the Likud party, which was in opposition at the time, along with lawmakers from the party, visited the Al-Aqsa complex, protected by hundreds of Israeli riot police.
He came down from the Dome of the Rock about 45 minutes later, leading to an eruption of violent protests. Sharon’s visit, among other factors, is believed to have led to the second Palestinian Intifada (uprising).
“The Temple Mount is in our hands and will remain in our hands. It is the holiest site in Judaism and it is the right of every Jew to visit the Temple Mount,” media reports had quoted him as saying at the time.
The second Intifada, also called the Al-Aqsa Intifada, lasted till 2005, and saw numerous civilians killed and thousands of Palestinians detained.
In 2021, clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque, which led to Israeli police storming the compound to end a sit-in by protesters, escalated into a military conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip that lasted 11 days.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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