Why these repeated attacks on Al-Aqsa Masjid?

These attacks were well-planned to demoralise the Palestinians who remain the only obstacle for Israel to build the Third Jewish Temple

One may ask why these frequent Israeli attacks on Masjid Al-Aqsa which is the third most sacred mosque in Islam venerated by Muslims worldwide. These attacks were well-planned to demoralise the Palestinians who remain the only obstacle for Israel to build the Third Jewish Temple.

Israel is an entity planted in Palestine by the British Imperial Power in violation of all accepted norms, legal and moral principles for Jews brought from all over who have not even seen this country. 

Jerusalem is an Israeli-occupied territory in its June 1967 war of aggression on neighbouring Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The war brought under Israeli control Sinai, West Bank, Golan Heights, South Lebanon and East Jerusalem. 

Their almost a century-and-half-old dream has been to demolish Masjid Al-Aqsa and build the Jewish temple in its place. This is the reason why Israel has been storming Muslims at prayer and desecrating the mosque.

Israel doesn’t want to bomb or use modern technology to demolish Al-Aqsa. Instead, they wanted to dig underground, under the pretext of archaeological excavations, so that the building collapses on its own.

For example, as part of this conspiracy, in 1968 Israel started archaeological excavation works adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians thought these works may undermine the very foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tried to stop them.

Israeli forces used tear gas and rubber bullets and wounded 26 Palestinians.

This was followed in April 1989 by ultranationalist Jews’ decision to march onto the Temple Mount, the site of today’s Al-Aqsa mosque complex, to lay a large cornerstone for the rebuilding of the Third Temple. This was a deliberate act of provocation, which if fulfilled, would involve the levelling of the Al-Aqsa compound.

In October 1990 once again government-backed Jewish extremists who are law unto themselves tried to place a cornerstone for building the Third Temple. 

Palestinians staged a peaceful protested within the compound. Israeli police responded first with tear gas and later with automatic gunfire killing 21 Palestinians and detained a number of others.

Adnan Husseini, of the Jerusalem Islamic administrative authority said: “The massacre was planned before by the Israelis to scare the Muslims so we wouldn’t protest any decisions that are made about our holy places.”

In October 2000 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, known for his war crimes, especially the massacre of Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra-Chatila in Lebanon, who later became Israeli prime minister, visited Al-Aqsa compound with around 400 soldiers and provoked Palestinians.

As expected, this sparked protests and Israel responded by firing tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, opened fire elsewhere in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. 

This sparked an uprising leading to Second Intifada known as ‘Al Aqsa’ Intifada during which, according to B’Tselem, Israel killed 6,371 Palestinians of whom 1,317 were children. In the midst 1,083 Israelis were also killed during this intifada.

That was not the end of Israeli provocations of Palestinians.

When Jerusalem was brought under Israeli control in June 1967 an agreement was reached with the Islamic Endowment Authority which administered the premises that it would not allow non-Muslim prayer on Al-Aqsa mosque premise.

This agreement came under test every time Jewish and other non-Muslims tried to visit the premise. In 2015 Jewish extremist groups began to make frequent visits to the complex preceded by the removal of Muslim worshippers from the site by Israeli forces.

Palestinians were suspicious that Israel was planning to renege on the agreement. It was in this atmosphere that in September 2015 Muslim worshippers were removed from the compound after dawn prayer to allow right wing Israeli extremists to visit the premises.

Palestinians protested and Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets besides barricading the worshippers inside the mosque. Later Israelis threw tear gas forcing worshippers to run for safety. In this incident two Israeli soldiers were killed.  

In response Israel introduced metal detectors and facial recognition security cameras at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. Palestinians protested and refused to pass through the detectors. Israel responded with deploying tear gas and rubber bullets against the protestors as tension inflamed.

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians reached boiling point due to events in Sheikh Jar rah  where Israel wanted to evict 40 Palestinians, including 10 children, out of their home. Supporters inside Israel, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank organised protests in solidarity with them and others facing imminent eviction.

On Friday 7 May 2021 more than 90,000 Palestinians congregated to take part in the final Friday prayers of the holy month, according to Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Waqf Islamic Affairs Council. 

Palestinians at the mosque began their demonstration, raising both Palestinian and Hamas flags. Israeli police had deployed a large number of police and closed the surrounding streets that led to the mosque. Those who came to take part in the prayers were met with iron barriers and forced to go through identity checks.

Israeli police violently dispersed the protesters around Jerusalem throughout the day. Later that evening, Israeli police wearing shoes stormed Al-Aqsa mosque and started attacking worshippers using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets. They closed all doors in the mosque while carpet inside the mosque caught fire and there was smoke everywhere. Prayer was disturbed and hundreds were injured and hospitalised. Most of the injuries reported were to the head and eyes.

What followed was the indiscriminate Israeli aerial bombing of Gaza, most densely populated place in the world, killing at the time of writing on 20 May, 213 Palestinians, 62 children and the destruction of infrastructure depriving water, electricity, food, medicine, and fuel, crippling Gaza where people live in fear of being killed by any movement.

Meanwhile rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza killed 12 Israelis, some say more, people flee for safety, buildings are damaged, and airports closed and fight was triggered between Israeli Palestinians and Jews causing civil war threatening Israel’s stability. 

However, judging from the blind US-European support and the shameful and disgusting silence of Arab tyrants to the ongoing slaughter, Israel may end up fulfilling its dream.