Al-Aqsa Mosque: Palestinians proven right again as Israel ramps up violations
Jewish worshippers overlooking Al-Aqsa-Temple Mount on 15 April 2025
Abed Abou Shhadeh writes in Middle East Eye on 5 August 2025:
There is something deeply unsettling in the way Arab and Western diplomats continue to dismiss Israeli political declarations as mere rhetoric. Equally puzzling is the extent to which Israeli politicians have proven honest and explicit about their intentions.
Now, 21 months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, we can look back and see how Israel has, step by step, implemented nearly all the promises it made on 8 October 2023, while the world has stood by and watched as entire cities were wiped off the face of the earth.
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Unilateral actions
In the past month alone, the Israeli Knesset passed a symbolic but politically significant bill endorsing de facto annexation of the West Bank.
Then, in late July, the Ministry of Defence transferred administrative control of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, second-largest mosque in Palestine, from the Palestinian Waqf and local authorities to the Kiryat Arba Religious Council. Since the 1997 Hebron Protocol, part of the Oslo II Accords, Palestinian authorities – specifically the Islamic Waqf and the Hebron Municipality – were responsible for civil matters concerning the mosque’s Muslim section, including safety infrastructure, electricity, sanitation and surveillance systems, while Israeli forces controlled security and Jewish access.
However, these administrative and legal constraints, which had previously limited Israeli authorities from altering management structures or making physical changes without Palestinian consent, have now been bypassed or removed by the Israeli military’s Civil Administration. This shift paves the way for unilateral changes, including construction projects and settler oversight, and is widely condemned as a violation of international law and the long-standing status quo agreement at the site.
Over the weekend, Jewish settlers, under heavy police protection, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in unprecedented numbers. They were led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who then conducted prayer services inside the complex itself. This marked his eighth such intrusion since the genocide began, and his eleventh since taking office. Whereas in the past, police had restricted Jewish visitors to the eastern plaza and prevented them from praying.