Control of Al-Aqsa Mosque ‘Under Threat’ by Israel, Jerusalem’s Grand Mufti Warns

• Control of Al-Aqsa Mosque ‘Under Threat’ by Israel, Jerusalem’s Grand Mufti Warns
  by https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english
  Jerusalem’s grand mufti said he is beginning to lose control of the management of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Israel. Mufti Ekrima Sa’id Sabri said occupying Israeli forces are undermining the right of the Supreme Islamic Authority in Jerusalem and is targeting the Muslim status of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
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  He expressed concern that the strategic Bab Al-Rahma area east of the compound is under particular threat, where Israel prevents Muslims from praying or even being in the area. 
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  On Sunday, Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and arrested five women who were standing around the Bab Al-Rahma area, also known as the Golden Gate. When a mosque guard tried to interfere in their defence, he was arrested too.
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  The Islamic Endowment, known as Waqf in Arabic, denounced the arrest, saying it symbolises Israel’s “aims at changing the long-observed historic, religious and legal status quo at the mosque.” Sabri said he fears that Israel is going to take advantage of the current unstable situation in the Arab world in order to implement its plans at Al-Aqsa.
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  “I strongly deplore these irresponsible violations and behaviours aimed at fuelling the situation inside Al-Aqsa Mosque by the occupation police,” he said. “Their behaviours range from chasing, arresting and deporting worshippers, mosque employees and guards, under false pretexts, aimed at changing the long-standing religious, historical, and legal status of the mosque.”
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  The Bab Al-Rahma gate has been one of the most contested gates in recent years. It has been closed off to Palestinians with chains and locks since 2003 and has since then been used as a way for Israeli setters to enter the mosque compound.
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  In February, Jerusalemite Palestinians began their attempts to break off the locks on the gate and participate in prayer protests to assert their right to enter Al-Aqsa through Bab Al-Rahma. Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Jewish Israelis call the area the Temple Mount and claim it was historically a site of two Jewish temples. 
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