OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The Israeli occupation authorities are working to institutionalize the armed presence within Al-Aqsa Mosque, as practices to enhance control over the Mosque escalate in an attempt to break the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets.” A research paper emphasizes the necessity of restoring this equation through sustaining prayers and standing against military closures that prevent access to the Mosque.
The Jerusalem International Foundation issued a research paper highlighting the ongoing attempts by the occupation to break the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets,” which represented the principle upon which Al-Aqsa Mosque was opened after the occupation.
The paper, titled “On the Broken Equation of Al-Aqsa: No Prayer Under the Bayonets,” by researcher Ziad Abheis, states that the equation “no prayer under the bayonets” was established after the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem, stipulating that prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque could only take place if the occupying forces had withdrawn from it. Abheis added that despite the occupation’s early attempts to place Al-Aqsa Mosque under its direct control, it was forced to accept this reality after the formation of the Islamic Higher Committee, which thwarted attempts to place Al-Aqsa under the management of the Israeli “Ministry of Religions.”
Developments that broke the equation
Imposing this equation was not satisfactory to the Israeli occupation, according to the research paper. Therefore, it worked to gradually undermine this equation over a long period, intensifying its attempts to dismantle it after 2003.
The paper indicates that the opening of daily incursions for settlers has shifted the role of the occupation police to protecting the intruders, after their previous directives mandated preventing Jews from entering the Mosque except by special order from the Ministry of Internal Security. This later led to the formation of the “Temple Mount Police Force,” which has grown to exceed a full battalion, as the task of deploying around the Mosque became part of the overall duties of the occupation police in the Old City. By 2018, the occupation police began to refer to themselves as the “Temple Mount Administration,” hanging banners welcoming intruders during the long Jewish holiday season coinciding with the months of September and October each year.
2024: The year of the most dangerous transformation
According to the paper, the practices of the occupation, characterized by the temporary presence of the occupation police or establishing a foothold within the Mosque, aim to reinforce its dominance and gradually break the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets.” However, the most significant development occurred on the third day of Ramadan last year, corresponding to March 13, 2024, when the occupation began deploying armed patrols coinciding with the call to the evening prayer, turning this into a routine practice throughout most of the year.
The paper continues that this year, the occupation authorities have worked to institutionalize the armed presence during Ramadan, distributing forces across more than eight points during Friday and Taraweeh prayers. These armed patrols now roam above worshipers as they bow and prostrate, completely contradicting and undermining the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets.”
Resisting attempts to break the equation
The paper indicates that the occupation’s relentless efforts over decades to break the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets” were met with resistance attempts. This includes the burning of the occupation’s police center near the Dome of the Rock twice, the uprising of Bab al-Rahmah to open the prayer hall in February 2019, removing the newly established police point above it in April 2022, or engaging with the occupation police in their repeated aggressive attempts.
The paper notes that understanding this equation was key to the Bab al-Asbat uprising against the electronic gates in 2017. The message of the popular action at that time was: if prayer is conditional upon the occupation’s gates and the dominance of the occupation police, we will establish it at the gates of Al-Aqsa until these gates are removed, which indeed happened, renewing the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets.” This also renewed the application of the fatwa by Sheikh Al-Sayegh practically by the people of Jerusalem and Palestine after 50 years of its issuance.
The necessity of restoring the equation
The paper concludes by emphasizing that the equation of “no prayer under the bayonets” must be restored through the sustainability of prayer and standing against the bayonets. It insists on maintaining this equation at the forefront of our awareness of Al-Aqsa and our existence within it at the levels of Jerusalem, Palestine, and the Islamic nation. The attempt to break this equation is merely a temporary surge that contradicts the overall balance of power in the conflict. Even if a temporary window is allowed to impose it now, we must work today with awareness, determination, and understanding to make its restoration a unifying goal, as restoring the equation is possible until the moment of liberation, so that prayers remain and the bayonets are broken.
Militarization of Al-Aqsa
The study concluded with a detailed map showing the military encroachment imposed by the occupation on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, where the points of presence of its forces inside Al-Aqsa and at its gates reached 30 points, including six police centers, six armed patrols, three reinforced patrols, and an occupation police car patrolling Al-Aqsa. There are also ten checkpoints, one at each of the open gates of Al-Aqsa, three of which have been reinforced with additional iron cages to enhance their presence and restrict the entry of worshipers. This necessitates the restoration of this historical equation: prayers must be established, and the bayonets must be confronted.
