Hamas: Israeli measures won't alter Al-Aqsa Mosque identity

Hamas warned on Friday that new Israeli measures permitting Jewish prayer books and organized public prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque would not alter the holy site's Islamic character, issuing the statement as Palestinians marked the 57th anniversary of the 1969 arson attack. The Palestinian group said the recent decisions by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir represented an "escalatory step" against the site's sanctity.

"The [Israeli] occupation's plans will not succeed in Judaizing the Al-Aqsa Mosque, changing its characteristics, erasing its identity, dividing it temporally or spatially, or legitimizing Talmudic rituals in its courtyards," the movement said. Hamas called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and inside Israel to "bolster their presence and steadfastness at Al-Aqsa and confront the occupation's plans to impose new realities there," urging Arab and Muslim nations to shoulder their historic responsibilities toward the holy city.

Israeli authorities ease long-standing restrictions

Israeli police allowed religious Jews to bring prayer books into the mosque compound last week, following earlier permissions for printed prayer sheets introduced in January, according to Israeli media reports. Ben-Gvir later confirmed the move, while police officials maintained that management of the flashpoint site follows political-level directives and field assessments. In late July, hundreds of religious Jews performed public prayers inside the compound in Ben-Gvir's presence, marking a further erosion of longstanding restrictions that had barred Jews from performing prayers or bringing religious items into the area.

1969 arson attack led to Islamic Cooperation

Hamas said the 1969 arson attack represented a "dangerous milestone in the ongoing targeting of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its Islamic identity." "What Al-Aqsa is witnessing today -- including incursions, Talmudic rituals and attempts to impose new realities in its courtyards -- is an extension of that crime," the group added, referring to the August 21, 1969 attack by Australian national Dennis Michael Rohan that destroyed parts of the Al-Qibli prayer hall. The incident prompted the first Islamic summit in Rabat, Morocco, on September 25, 1969, leading to the establishment of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, now known as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.