OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The upcoming season of Biblical holidays represents the most severe aggression against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, taking a more escalating and dangerous turn regarding its Islamic identity. This is occurring amid the efforts of religious Zionism to impose the alleged Temple in place of the Mosque, alongside the funding from the Israeli government for incursions and an increase in the number of intruders.
Since October 7 of last year, the intensity of assaults and occupation measures at the blessed Mosque has escalated unprecedentedly, in an attempt to impose complete Israeli sovereignty over it and transform it into a Jewish holy site.
Every year, extremist Temple groups use the holiday season as an opportunity to escalate their aggression against Al-Aqsa, reaching its peak, and turning it into an occasion to cement new realities by introducing religious biblical tools, blowing the shofar, imposing sacrifices, and bringing in plant offerings.
The holiday season begins today, Thursday, with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), followed by the so-called ten Days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur on October 12, and leading to the Feast of Tabernacle (Sukkot) from October 17 to 23.
The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three pilgrimage holidays associated with the alleged Temple, which extremist groups exploit to impose all their rituals within Al-Aqsa and bring in plant offerings inside it.
A full-force Zionist aggression
Researcher in Jerusalem affairs Ziad Ibheis said in a post on X that the problem for the Zionists with October is complex. It corresponds to the lunar month of Tishrei for them, which begins tomorrow, marking the start of their solar year. Therefore, the Gregorian month of October is equivalent to the month of Rosh Hashanah, the month of Repentance, the month of Atonement, the month of Tabernacles, the month of Torah Completion, and its celebration.
In another post, Ibheis said that following the Iranian missile attack yesterday, Israel announced the cancellation of all previous precautionary measures, bringing the forthcoming wave of aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque back to full force. He clarified in a post the dates of the upcoming biblical holidays and the rituals the Zionists plan to impose for each holiday.
Unprecedented escalation
Abdullah Ma’ruf, a researcher specializing in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa studies at Istanbul’s 29 May University, said that the season of Jewish religious holidays is the longest in the year, lasting 22 days, characterized by a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in incursions and assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ma’ruf explains that Al-Aqsa is expected to face many incursions and Israeli assaults in the coming days, which Temple groups plan to carry out in the Mosque, viewing it as a critical season for such aggression by performing certain specific Talmudic rituals inside it.
He adds that these holidays will include blowing the shofar inside the holy Islamic site, an increase in incursions, and the number of intruding settlers wearing priestly garments, in addition to performing what is known as priestly blessings and epic prostration, along with bringing in plant offerings during the Feast of Tabernacles and performing Talmudic rituals.
This year has a special significance, according to Ma’ruf, as these holidays coincide with the first anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle. In this regard, he states that this year will witness the execution of public religious rituals inside the Mosque’s compound on a much larger scale than last year, especially since the first anniversary, according to the Gregorian calendar, of the events of October 7 will occur during these days. It is not unlikely that extremist Temple groups, supported by the Israeli government, will attempt to exploit the anniversary to assert their presence in Al-Aqsa with much greater force than before.
He points out that during the Feast of Tabernacles, Al-Aqsa faces a fierce wave of incursions accompanied by religious rituals and the introduction of plant offerings.
However, he considers this year to be particularly important, given that the first Hebrew anniversary, according to the Hebrew calendar, of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation will fall on October 24.
The Temple groups aim to completely change the identity of Al-Aqsa and transform it into a temple. As a first step, these groups are attempting to build a Jewish synagogue inside it, aiming to strip away exclusive Islamic sovereignty in the administration and control of Al-Aqsa.
He adds that the occupation government and the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir continue their aggression against the blessed Mosque, as he believes that the weakest point for Muslims is Al-Aqsa, and that it is the only place where there is no one to actually defend it against these assaults.
A battle for existence
Currently, Al-Aqsa is living, as Ma’ruf confirms, a battle for existence, especially since extremist groups see that the ground is prepared in Al-Aqsa to implement their project, taking advantage of the unprecedented official and popular Arab and Islamic paralysis regarding the protection of the Mosque.
He points out that the occupation government and its extremist groups believe that the absence of official Arab and Islamic popular action is the golden opportunity to move forward with their project in the blessed Mosque.
From his perspective, the occupation government sees any retreat or calm regarding this project from the Arab and Islamic nation as a green light to take additional steps in its scheme, Ma’ruf opined.
He adds, Palestinians in Jerusalem, 1948 occupied Palestine, the West Bank, and the entire Islamic world must understand that the primary issue of Al-Aqsa is occupation. Any silence or calm regarding what the extremist groups are planning, which has become clear to all, means a green light for the occupation to proceed with its project inside Al-Aqsa.
He continues, “Jerusalemites must understand that there are no red lines in defending Al-Aqsa, as it is a matter of life and death for the Palestinian people primarily, and for all Muslims, considering its sacredness is no less important than that of the Kaaba and the Prophet’s Mosque.”
According to an assessment issued recently by the Jerusalem International Foundation, this year is expected to witness the most severe aggression against Al-Aqsa in its history on all fronts of Judaization. This includes repeated public blowing of the shofar, showcasing rituals, attempts to renew the siege on Al-Aqsa, extending areas of isolation on the western side, attempts to build a pavilion in the eastern courtyard of the Mosque, showcasing the occupation police’s dominance over its administration, and interfering with the endowments and guards.
It is believed that Al-Aqsa faces an unprecedented existential threat since its occupation, necessitating engagement in the battle to defend it by all possible means of resistance, at the level of the Palestinian people in all areas of their presence, and at the level of the surrounding countries and all the peoples of the Arab and Islamic nation. There is also a need to pressure the increasingly weakened official Arab system to secure any positive stance and halt the deterioration of its position.
Al-Aqsa: The solid rock
For his part, Sheikh Kamal Khatib, the Deputy Head of the Islamic Movement in 1948 occupied Palestine, said that in the anniversary of the Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa uprising, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque has been, and will continue to be, the solid rock upon which the centuries of occupiers, colonizers, and arrogant intruders have shattered and broken.
In a post on his Facebook account, he added that anyone who thinks that amid the euphoria, even the chaos being experienced by those who see Al-Aqsa as their golden opportunity to impose a new reality is mistaken. The Mosque stands firm against all odds and will remain so.
Khatib concluded saying, “The entire Al-Aqsa Mosque is ours, and no one has any right to even a grain of its soil. It is the foolish who do not read history. There is no consolation for the frustrated, the pessimistic, or the hopeless; we are closer to relief, so rejoice!”
