The Palestinian East Jerusalem Governorate has warned of Israeli efforts to impose "a new Jewish religious reality" around Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem through repeated Jewish rituals and prayers at Bab al-Rahma Cemetery, located along the eastern wall of the mosque's compound.
"Rituals held in recent weeks go beyond seasonal rituals linked to Jewish holidays and pave the way for turning the site into a recurring Jewish prayer point," the governorate said in a statement.
It said it had monitored promotional posts by so-called "Temple groups" on social media as well as the creation of a WhatsApp group called "Gates of Mercy, open for us" promoting a Jewish religious narrative that gives special sanctity and importance to the eastern side of Al-Aqsa's wall, particularly Bab al-Rahma.
"Temple groups" refer to several Jewish nationalist and religious organisations and movements that target Jerusalem, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, and call for building an alleged Jewish temple on its ruins.
"The narrative seeks to present Bab al-Rahma as a Jewish religious site that can be accessed and used for prayer," the governorate said.
It added that the promotion has moved into practical steps through calls for weekly prayers at the site, linking the moves to Uri Ohayon, a former Israeli army officer.
'Exclusive place of worship'
The gatherings included group prayers and rituals next to Muslim graves, it said.
"Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 35.6 acres, is an exclusively Islamic place of worship," the East Jerusalem Governorate stressed, adding that its endowment status covers all its courtyards, prayer halls, walls, gates and landmarks.
Bab al-Rahma is one of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and lies within its eastern wall, it said.
Israeli authorities have no sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem or its holy sites and no right to impose changes on the identity, nature, use or landmarks of the mosque, the governorate added.
It warned that allowing such practices to become normalised or treating them as passing religious rituals would encourage so-called "Temple groups" to expand their activities and turn new points around Al-Aqsa into sites for gathering, rituals and prayer.
"What is happening at Bab al-Rahma represents an organised path to impose a new Jewish religious reality around Al-Aqsa Mosque, beginning with the normalisation and repetition of rituals and then turning them into a permanent presence and routine practice," the governorate said.
On Sunday, 593 Israeli illegal settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, while Israeli authorities imposed restrictions on Palestinian worshippers' access to the site during the Jewish New Year, according to earlier figures from the governorate.
The Israeli measures coincided with calls by Israeli "Temple groups" to intensify incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Jewish New Year, which began at sundown on Friday, September 11 and concluded after nightfall on Sunday, September 13.
