With the arrival of Passover (April 13-17), Zionist Jews in the occupied land intensified their incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and prayed there. Their police prevented many Muslims from entering during Jewish prayer times, which had been prohibited since 1967, but it has become a ritual protected by the occupation police in recent years.

There is no religious connection between the celebration of the Jewish Passover by the Zionists and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, the Temple organizations that seek to demolish the mosque and build the Temple in its place have been linking the holiday to the storming of the mosque for several years. They connect the intrusion with attempts to sacrifice offerings for the "Temple" inside as a form of purification to allow the rest of the Jews, who are divided over this ritual, to enter. The extremist religious Jews, particularly from the Temple groups, insist that the "Passover sacrifice" can only be performed there in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where the alleged "Temple" is located. They claim that the "Temple Mount" and the "Herod's Temple," which the Jews say was built on the ruins of Solomon's Temple, are located where the Dome of the Rock Mosque stands. There, they want to build a new temple and demolish this mosque.

In recent years, extremist Jewish organizations, such as "Return to the Temple Mount" and "Temple Priests," have escalated their public calls to present these offerings inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, disregarding its religious significance to Muslims.

A race of offerings for the 'Temple'.

Before the Hebrew Passover, the "Temple Organizations Union" called on its supporters to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and intensify the ritual of praying prostrated (lying on the ground of the Al-Aqsa compound), as well as to smuggle sacrifices (small goats that they steal from Palestinians) to be slaughtered inside the mosque. Four attempts were thwarted due to concerns over clashes with Muslims.

Extremist groups known as "Temple Priests" have published imagined images and models of an altar for sacrifices within Al-Aqsa Mosque, specifically at the site of the Dome of the Chain, east of the Dome of the Rock. This is part of their annual preparations to present what they call the "Passover Offering.

One of the circulated images shows a Torah altar surrounded by fire-lighting rituals and a young lamb prepared for slaughter, in a direct imitation of what is called the "narrative of the Temple.

The union published a picture of a sacrifice in its electronic invitation, in a direct incitement to carry out Passover slaughter rituals inside "Al-Aqsa.

The Union of Temple Organizations calls on settlers to storm the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque from tomorrow, Sunday, until next Thursday, and incites the "sacrifice offering" during what is known as the Jewish Passover.

The organization "Returning to the Mountain" urged its supporters to prepare for an attempt to sacrifice a Passover offering inside "Al-Aqsa" or at its gates before the holiday, in order to fulfill the commandments of the Torah in a timely manner.

Extremist groups are seeking to impose a new reality within the Al-Aqsa Mosque by making repeated attempts to carry out the ritual of "animal sacrifice" as part of their efforts to change the Islamic identity of the place and impose Biblical rituals within it.

With these Easter celebrations, Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed the exclusivity of the Israeli raiders in its eastern courtyard throughout the week, as they began to treat it as if it were their unofficial synagogue within the mosque.

The occupying police took measures to restrict the mosque guards and prevent them from approaching the intruders, as well as harassing the worshippers and arresting and expelling hundreds of them from the mosque, including its imams and preachers.

Slow Steps Towards the Judaization of Al-Aqsa

The new revelation this year is from researcher on Al-Aqsa affairs, Ziad Abuhais, who stated that the slow-paced Judaization operations carried out by the occupation, along with the Temple organizations and extremist ministers of the Zionist government, between the years 2008 and 2025, have succeeded in doubling the time that the occupation imposes on Muslims for the incursions carried out by settlers into the mosque. This is part of their attempts to temporally divide "Al-Aqsa" between Jews and Muslims; that is, a time for them and a time for Muslims.

He explained that in 2008, the occupying forces' police began trying to impose specific hours for the Zionist incursions, setting the time between 7 and 10 AM for extremist Zionists, and attempting to restrict the entry of Muslim worshippers to Al-Aqsa Mosque during that time.

However, today, after 17 years have passed, the intruders have come to occupy two periods for the incursions: the first is the morning period between 7:00 and 11:30, and the second is the afternoon period between 1:30 and 3:00. This means that the incursions have been extended by half an hour with each jump, resulting in them now comprising double the time.

Abuhais confirmed that the organizations of the Temple do not stop there, but rather publicly demand access to one of two ceilings: either to open the "Al-Aqsa" Mosque equally between Muslims and Jews, ensuring equal hours of entry and restriction for both, or to allow incursions at all times and days. This means that the goal is to spatially divide prayer inside the mosque by designating the eastern courtyard of the mosque to be transformed into a temple during their regular incursions, and the slow Judaization continues to make its steps.

During the Jewish Passover, from April 13 to 20, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed extensive incursions by large groups of settlers, who entered its courtyards from the direction of the Mughrabi Gate, under heavy protection from the occupying police. Some of them performed Talmudic and Torah rituals, especially on the eastern side of the mosque, near the Dome of the Rock, where they plan to build their temple in its place, before leaving through the Chain Gate.

Settlers inside the mosque conducted provocative tours in its courtyards, chanting hymns and Talmudic prayers, accompanied by singing and applause. This coincided with strict restrictions imposed by the occupation forces at the entrances to the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque, where dozens of metal barriers were set up on the streets and paths leading to the site. They stopped Palestinian passersby to check their identities and belongings in an attempt to prevent them from reaching the mosque.

The measures were not limited to mere restrictions; the occupation authorities closed all passages and roads leading to the Old City and the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid a heavy presence of police and special forces, turning Jerusalem into a closed military barrack.

Read the article in Arabic