Jews revere the location they name the Temple Mount as the situation of the primary and second temples and worship on the Western Wall, a remnant of the traditional complicated. Muslims comprehend it because the Noble Sanctuary, the place the prophet Muhammad is alleged to have ascended to heaven.
It’s the holiest website in Judaism and third holiest in Islam. The competing claims are one of the difficult parts of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian battle.
Clashes right here have been a repeated flash level for warfare. In 2021, preventing between police and Palestinians throughout Ramadan sparked a two-week escalation with Hamas 50 miles away in Gaza. An Israeli police raid final spring to clear protesters who had locked themselves inside ignited a second spherical of preventing.
Hamas commonly cites defending al-Aqsa as a justification for its assaults, together with the Oct. 7 raid on Israeli cities, the place fighters killed round 1,200 folks, Israeli authorities say, and kidnapped 253 others. The militants referred to as it Operation al-Aqsa Flood.
Now, within the wake of these assaults, an much more devastating Gaza warfare rages. The Israeli marketing campaign towards Hamas has killed greater than 30,000 Gazans, well being officers there say, and with Ramadan solely days away, tensions round al-Aqsa are hovering. Arduous-liners within the Israeli authorities have pushed to restrict the quantity, age and gender of Palestinians allowed on the plateau, prompting warnings from each side that restrictions may result in violence.
This week, the handfuls of employees who have been racing to organize the mosque nonetheless had no concept what to anticipate.
In a crowded workplace overlooking the compound, Azzam al-Khatib, the top of the Jordanian-appointed Islamic group that manages al-Aqsa, learn the most recent rumors aloud from his cellphone.
“Now I’m seeing that solely 10,000 to fifteen,000 can be allowed for the entire month,” he mentioned.
If that report proved true, it might be fraction of the traditional Ramadan crowd, which final yr totaled about 1.4 million. On one peak Friday, the compound hosted greater than 300,000 worshipers.
The rumors shocked surrounding staffers. These limits would contradict public assurances from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace that Israel had determined to not considerably curtail entry to the mosque.
A part of the issue, staffers mentioned, is that Israeli officers don’t discuss to them immediately, leaving them on the mercy of contradictory media studies.
“There isn’t a communication between them and us,” mentioned Mohammed al-Sharif. “We nonetheless have no idea what will occur.”
Islam’s holiest month begins with the sighting of the primary crescent after the brand new moon. This yr, that’s anticipated to come back on Sunday or Monday night. For now, the workers that runs al-Aqsa from this maze of arched stone workplaces is getting ready for regular crowds. Meaning establishing a dozen medical tents on the plaza and organizing iftar dinners after sundown to have fun the top of the every day quick for tens of 1000’s of worshipers.
Greater than 300 volunteers, lots of them Palestinian boy scouts, are set to direct males towards al-Aqsa and girls towards the gold-leafed Dome of the Rock, day after day. Ambulances can be stationed close to the Outdated Metropolis gates to answer routine emergencies or violence.
Israel is prepping for the worst. Police officers mentioned they may preserve about 1,000 officers deployed across the Outdated Metropolis on weekdays and a pair of,500 or extra on Fridays, the Muslim holy day of Jumu’ah. The heavy presence was already evident exterior of the Outdated Metropolis’s Damascus Gate, the place police usually conflict with youthful Palestinians on Ramadan evenings.
The lead-up to this wartime Ramadan has uncovered divisions in Israel’s authorities and safety institution. Probably the most conservative members of the federal government wish to reduce off entry to al-Aqsa for many Palestinians so long as greater than 100 Israelis proceed to be held hostage in Gaza.
Itamar Ben Gvir, the firebrand nationwide safety minister who controls Israeli police, pushed plans to largely ban worshipers from the location, citing safety dangers and the hostages, Israeli media reported final month. Aged Palestinians can be allowed, in accordance with the studies, however youthful residents of the West Financial institution and Israel can be barred.
“It will possibly’t be that ladies and kids are hostages in Gaza and we permit Hamas victory celebrations on the Temple Mount,” Ben Gvir wrote on X.
Lengthy-standing agreements with Jordan permit visits to the plaza however prohibit anybody besides Muslims to worship there. Jews pray on the Western Wall. However in recent times, extremist Jewish teams have more and more despatched activists to the al-Aqsa compound to hope, typically brazenly, which Palestinians view as a provocation.
Ben Gvir, who started his profession within the radical settler motion that seeks extra management over the Temple Mount, has made at the least three visits to the plaza since taking cost of the police. Some Israeli officers have accused him of “reckless” rhetoric that would additional inflame Palestinians and the broader Arab world at a harmful time.
“The military and the intelligence professionals are telling everybody that it doesn’t do us any good to pour gasoline on the fireplace proper now,” mentioned a former army official conversant in discussions inside the cupboard. “The hearth is burning very popular as it’s.” He spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the delicate subject.
Netanyahu declined for a number of weeks to take a stand on Ben Gvir’s proposals. However on Tuesday, following a safety cupboard assembly wherein safety leaders reportedly suggested warning, the prime minister’s workplace introduced that Israel is not going to impose any restrictions at first of Ramadan however will consider situations on a weekly foundation.
“Ramadan is holy for Muslims, and the sanctity of the vacation can be preserved this yr, as it’s yearly,” his workplace mentioned in a press release.
Khatib, the mosque director, mentioned his group can be prepared to regulate because the month progresses.
“Inshallah, it should stay peaceable and Muslims from anyplace can be allowed to come back worship,” he mentioned, utilizing the Arabic phrase for “God keen.”
No matter occurs, this Ramadan guarantees to be a somber one right here. Usually, the realm across the al-Aqsa plaza can be strung with lights and the slender lanes can be crowded with households shopping for garments for the month and meals for the nightly iftar banquets.
However on Friday, the Outdated Metropolis remained quiet and undecorated, the temper dampened by the continuing tragedy in Gaza.
Ammar Sidr, 47, works with the one of many youth teams that usually festoons the doorway to al-Aqsa with 60 Ramadan lamps and 1000’s of yards of electrical lights.
“This yr we did nothing,” he mentioned. “Ramadan this yr is unhappy.”
