On the second anniversary of the Jerusalemites’ opening of the al-Rahma Gate prayer hall after a 16-year closure the Israeli danger still threatens the prayer hall and the eastern area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in general.
Medhat Dibah a Jerusalemite lawyer confirmed that there is a clear Israeli intention to control the al-Rahma Gate.
“Nevertheless what is delaying that is that the Israeli occupation government knows that Al-Aqsa is like a volcano and that the crater of this volcano is the al-Rahma Gate prayer hall” he added.
It will not be closed
Dibah added that every Palestinian inside and outside the homeland knows that there is a third prayer hall (in the Al-Aqsa Mosque) the al-Rahma Gate prayer hall which was opened once and will never be closed again.
He pointed out that the occupation government will not be able to close it unless it sheds the blood of thousands of Palestinians not only in Jerusalem but everywhere.
Dibah pointed out that international law stipulates that Al-Aqsa with all its components remain under permanent supervision of the Islamic endowments.
Furthermore international law provides that the Islamic endowment of Jerusalem has the freedom to administer and maintain the holy site without interference from the occupation.
Harassment policy
Sheikh Ekrema Sabri the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque affirmed that the continued restrictions imposed by the occupation on Muslim worshipers reflect a planned scheme to control the al-Rahma Gate prayer hall.
“Even if we assume that it is not a prayer hall as the occupation claims it is an essential part of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and the occupation has no right to control it” Sheikh Sabri added.
He stressed that the Jerusalemites are ready to defend every inch of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sabri called on all Muslims to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and support the steadfast Jerusalemites to confront the plans that aim to change the fait accompli in the Holy City and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In 2003 the occupation police closed the al-Rahma Gate prayer hall claiming that it was used by the Islamic Heritage Committee for political activities and the mosque remained closed.
On 16/02/2019 the Israeli police put locks on the external iron gate to tighten their control over the al-Rahma Gate chapel.
Two days later Jerusalemite youths broke the gate and the locks triggering confrontations with the occupation police which used violent means to suppress the Jerusalemites.
Calls were launched for mobilization on Friday that followed these clashes to confront the occupation’s schemes.
The Jerusalemites succeeded on 22/02/2019 to open the mosque and restore it to what it was before 2003.
For a long time the occupation authorities have sought to control the eastern area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque specifically al-Rahma Gate and prevent its restoration as a prelude to control and Judaize it.
