AhlulBayt News Agency: Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the preacher of Al‑Aqsa Mosque, has urged Arab and Muslim nations and their leaders to take responsibility for defending Jerusalem and safeguarding Al‑Aqsa, warning that the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is advancing what he described as an aggressive plan targeting the holy site.
In his remarks to the press, Sabri said Israeli authorities have decided to ban dozens of young Palestinians from entering Al‑Aqsa during the upcoming month of Ramadan and to deny any facilitation for worshippers arriving from the West Bank.
He cautioned that these restrictions are expected to significantly reduce the number of worshippers compared to previous years.
Sabri stressed that these policies are part of broader efforts to Judaize Jerusalem, tighten control over the Mosque, and assert administrative authority over it, pointing to intensified measures in Silwan to the south and Sheikh Jarrah to the north.
He also warned that extremist settler groups have openly called for expanding their incursions into the Mosque compound and performing overt religious rituals inside its courtyards, including symbolic prostration and the use of ritual instruments—moves he said reveal deeper ambitions toward the site.
According to the Palestine Information Center “Muta,” 12,136 Israeli settlers entered the Al‑Aqsa compound in January 2026 alone, including Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir, who visited the site on January 13.
Sabri further described Israeli home demolitions in Jerusalem as a continuation of discriminatory policies dating back to the British Mandate era.
He added that recent expulsion orders preventing Jerusalemites from accessing Al‑Aqsa aim to empty the Mosque of its regular worshippers while facilitating settler incursions.
Jerusalemite activists continue to call for urgent action to defend Al‑Aqsa and Islamic holy sites, warning that daily Israeli measures seek to alter the city’s Arab and Islamic identity.
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