For the first time since 1967.. The occupation closes Al-Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan

Occupied Jerusalem today recorded a historical precedent, the first of its kind since 1967, as worshippers were absent from the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan. The Israeli occupation authorities continue to close the mosque for the fourteenth consecutive day, preventing Palestinians from accessing it or performing religious rituals on the holiest days of the holy month.

The occupation's security apparatuses justified their actions by imposing a state of emergency in the country due to the ongoing military developments since the Israeli-American attack on Iran on February 28th. Despite these claims, local sources confirmed that the measures exclusively target the Palestinian presence in Al-Haram Al-Sharif, while life continues differently in other areas.

For its part, the Jerusalem Governorate warned of the seriousness of this escalation, indicating that what is happening goes beyond temporary security measures to a systematic political and ideological path. The Governorate clarified that the real goal is to attempt to change the existing religious, historical, and legal reality in Al-Aqsa Mosque, exploiting the world's preoccupation with the current military circumstances.

Field sources observed an escalation in the incitement discourse led by what are known as extremist 'Temple organizations,' which call for imposing full control over the mosque. These calls coincide with tightening the noose on the Old City, where its alleys have turned into a military barracks preventing the entry of any worshipper from outside the residents of the narrow area.

Video clips documented attacks by occupation forces on youth groups that tried to gather at Bab Al-Sahira to perform the Isha and Tarawih prayers. The forces imposed a strict security cordon to prevent any attempt to break the siege imposed on the mosque, which led to clashes at several points of contact in the occupied city.

This comprehensive closure, which affected Tarawih prayers and I'tikaf, sparked a wave of widespread anger in the Palestinian street and on social media platforms. Activists considered that depriving Muslims of praying in Al-Aqsa during the last ten days represents a blatant assault on freedom of worship and a transgression of all red lines.

In an attempt to defy the prohibition decisions, hundreds of Palestinians resorted to what they described as 'worship of defiance,' where they performed prayers at the thresholds of the mosque and in the streets leading to it. These gatherings began with dozens of worshippers before expanding to include hundreds who insisted on remaining at the closest possible point to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Observers believe that the occupation seeks to impose new realities in Al-Haram Al-Sharif, exploiting the ongoing war with Iran to pass plans for temporal and spatial division. They pointed out that international silence and the weak Arab stance encouraged the occupation authorities to extend the closure to include all days of the last ten days of Ramadan.

Bloggers and Jerusalemites described these moments as the most difficult in the city's history, as the mosque, for the first time in decades, misses the voices of worshippers and the supplications of those in I'tikaf on Laylat al-Qadr and the unique Friday. They affirmed that the Israeli bet on Palestinians getting used to the scene of a closed Al-Aqsa will fail in the face of the steadfastness of those stationed at the gates.

Jerusalemite sources concluded by warning that the continuation of this situation could lead to an explosion of conditions in the city, especially with the approach of Eid al-Fitr. They stressed that Al-Aqsa Mosque represents the core of the conflict, and that harming its sanctity under any security pretext will lead to unpredictable repercussions in the entire region.

Closing Al-Aqsa is an act of war with soft tools, and closing it is a war objective that must be thwarted.