Al-Aqsa invasion

Is mere condemnation enough?

For extremist Zionist settlers to invade the Masjid Al-Aqsa at this particular juncture stinks to high heaven for several reasons. First of all, it shows which elements in the Zionist state are most present in the so-called Temple Movement. The invasion was led by Israeli settlers, who have been on the rampage for the last several weeks across the whole West Bank, not just East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa. Importantly, it seems a gesture by the settlers to attempt to sabotage the USA-Iran talks, backed by the Israeli government, which had the marauders accompanied by police. As one of the reasons Iran is under attack is because of its support for Palestine, and as the basis of that support is religious, an attack on Al-Aqsa is probably one of the best ways to sabotage talks possible.

The problem is religious; there should be no confusion about that. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is sacred to Muslims, not just as the site of the Ascent of the Holy Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) to Heaven on his Night Journey, and is a Haram, along with Makkah and Madinah. Until the establishment of Israel in 1948, it used to be part of the usual Haj pilgrim’s itinerary. At the same time, it is also the focus of the Temple Movement, a Jewish organisation dedicated to building the Third Temple, in succession to the Second, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD (The First was destroyed in 587 BC, when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians). Al-Aqsa has been subject to the unwelcome attentions of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who heads a small party with extreme far-right Zionist support, who has visited it a number of times since taking office in 2023, the last time on April13, at all times under ministerial police protection. However, for the first time, invaders have actually performed religious rituals inside the compound.

It should not be forgotten that while Palestinians obtain sympathy in the non-Muslim world because of their being a stateless people, in the Muslim world, the sanctity attaches to the land itself. It should also not be forgotten that the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is now the Organization of Islamic Countries, was founded in 1969, in response to the setting on fire of Al-Aqsa by a Zionist extremist settler. It is perhaps one of the consequences of having a Zionist state that such attacks occur, to convulse the Muslim peoples, if not necessarily their governments, which might feel that a statement of condemnation is enough.