Compass – Amman

The phrase “preserving the status quo” or “the status quo” continues to be repeated, and the emphasis on the importance of the status quo in the holy places in Jerusalem, after the continuous escalating Israeli violations of the sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, aiming to create a different status quo.

The application of the status quo of the holy places in Jerusalem dates back to the Ottoman era, which continues to be valid and adopted until now, despite the succession of the authorities controlling Jerusalem, and despite the Israeli attempts to undermine and change it.

“Personalize Without Sharing”

The status quo or status quo, which is “unwritten,” is based on the status quo based on privatization and not sharing of places of worship in Jerusalem, thus confirming that Al-Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims alone, and non-Muslims have no right to it, according to the Jerusalem Endowments and Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department of the Ministry of Endowments. Jordanian.

The Executive Director of the Hashemite Fund for the Reconstruction of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, Wasfi Al-Kilani, said that the prayers of non-Muslims are prohibited in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the entry of non-Muslims is conditional on the approval of the custodian of the holy places and his representative on the ground, which is the Jordanian Islamic Endowment Department in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

Al-Kilani indicated, in statements carried by the “Kingdom” channel, that the current situation of the holy places in Jerusalem is rooted in the status quo that was established during successive eras. The prevailing principle of tolerance and coexistence in the arrangement of worship was the separation of places of worship.

In 2013, the King and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed the trusteeship agreement, and the agreement referred to the pledge of allegiance under which the guardianship of the holy places of Sharif Hussein bin Ali was concluded, which was confirmed by his pledge of allegiance on March 11, 1924 by the people of Jerusalem and Palestine, and then the guardianship devolved to King Abdullah II Ibn ELHussein; Including the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The Ministry of Endowments, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites has taken care of the affairs of Islamic sanctities in Jerusalem since 1950, and it manages and maintains them, according to the Department of Palestinian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Jerusalem Endowment and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department of the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments affirms that Al-Aqsa Mosque is subject to the guardianship of the king, in continuation of what was the case before the 1967 occupation, and it is managed “through the Jordanian government agencies in accordance with Jordanian law.”

prior approval

The visit of non-Muslims is subject to the prior approval of the “Jerusalem Endowment” with a commitment to decent behavior and modest dress appropriate to the nature of the place, while not allowing non-Muslims to pray or perform religious rituals.

Al-Kilani says that the Jordanian endowments in Jerusalem organized the entry of non-Muslims to the Al-Aqsa Mosque / Haram al-Sharif smoothly without any problems, but the door of the visit was closed by the occupation police after the Israeli opposition leader at the time, Ariel Sharon, stormed the sanctuary in 2000.

In 2003, the Israeli occupation authorities re-visited non-Muslims to the mosque, then took control of the procedures for regulating entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharif, and allowed non-Muslims to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque without interference, approval, supervision, or purchasing an entry ticket from the Islamic Waqf, according to Al-Kilani.

A resolution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2016 called on “Israel, the occupying power, to allow a return to the historical situation that existed until September of 2000, when the Jordanian Islamic Endowments Department was the only authority supervising the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and the task assigned to it included all matters related to managing the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif without hindrance, including maintenance and restoration work and organizing entry.

Al-Kilani explains that the visit of non-Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque is subject to prior permission from the Endowment, and the Endowment Administration used to sell two types of tickets to non-Muslims, and it was considered as an entry permit.

The proceeds of tickets sold were spent on Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the director of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Attack and its types

Every non-Muslim enters the Waqf without the permission of the endowment and by the force of arms and cover of the Israeli occupation authorities, so he is invaded, according to Al-Kilani.

There are two types of violators of the Holy Mosque, the first is the Jewish extremist who enters the Temple Mount and performs provocative tours, and the second is the non-Muslim tourist who is forced to enter through the Mughrabi Gate and does not know the correct procedure, according to the director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Omar Kiswani, who indicated that Israel “opened in 2003 tourism From the Mughrabi Gate, despite the endowment’s will and without coordination with its administration, and equated the intruders with the visitors.

Standing or current?

Several phrases are used to describe the status quo in Jerusalem, such as the status quo, status quo, and statusco, with additions such as historical, legal, and religious.

Jordan uses the phrase “the existing historical and legal situation in the city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian sanctities.” As for the Jerusalem Endowment Department, it uses the “existing religious, historical and legal situation.” As for the Palestinian Authority, it uses the term “statico” on several occasions.

Al-Kilani explains that naming the status quo is not preferable, because “the current situation is changing, and Israel sometimes uses the term with bad intentions because the current situation is different from what it was before 2000.” Al-Kilani agrees with Al-Kilani, saying that “the status quo expresses the currently imposed fait accompli.”

Al-Kilani explains that the term “religious” refers to what was approved by the clergy, while “legal” refers to what was recognized by international law, the United Nations and UNESCO, and “historic” refers to a situation that has existed for 1400 years.

Al-Kilani prefers naming the current legal-historical situation, while the director of Al-Aqsa Mosque says that “the existing historical situation is the best name.”

The Palestinian Assistant Foreign Minister to the United Nations and its organizations, Ambassador Omar Awadallah, through “The Kingdom,” indicates that countries use the current situation without using the phrase historical and legal, because they “want the current situation, which includes settlers’ incursions into the Temple Mount ….”

American diplomacy uses the phrase “the current historical situation in the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount,” while British diplomacy uses the phrase “the current historical situation.”

How threatens the sacrifice sacrifice Al-Aqsa Mosque?

The “sacrifice slaughter” has become the most preoccupied obsession for years, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, as extremists seek to slaughter an animal sacrifice inside Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, to commemorate the Hebrew Passover, in addition to insisting on storming the mosque and performing Jewish rituals inside it.

What is the essence of the sacrifice and its importance to the extremists? Why are they keen to slaughter him inside Al-Aqsa Mosque? What is the percentage of supporters of slaughter within the Zionist community?

The researcher in the affairs of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, Ziyad Abhis, said that the Jewish sacrificial slaughter has two dates, on Easter and another on the Day of Forgiveness, but the Temple groups focus on Easter because of its salvific nature according to the biblical theory, which says that the one who prompted the Lord to intervene and end the diaspora of the Israelites in Egypt , and taking them to the Holy Land, is the sacrifice of the sacrament, that is, the blood shed carries a salvific value in itself.

As for the second importance of the sacrifice – according to Abhis – it is the claim that it was practiced previously during the alleged Second Temple period, considering that the sacrifice of the sacrifice is the pinnacle of worship in the Temple, because the Spirit of the Lord dwells in it.

And the professor of Jerusalem studies and researcher Abdullah Maarouf explains that the sacrifice refers to the covenant between God and the people, and reminds of the issue of slaughter in which the Jews believe, specifically the allegation of the slaughter of the Prophet Isaac – upon him be peace – on the rock of Jerusalem or what they call the Holy of Holies, which is located inside the dome chapel. The Rock is in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and therefore most of them believe that the altar is located east of the Rock, specifically under the Dome of the Chain.

According to Maarouf, it is not possible to understand the mentality of the Zionists and their connection to the sacrifice with Al-Aqsa Mosque except by understanding their declared goal, which seeks to establish the alleged Temple in the place of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to remove all Islamic buildings from it.

What is the danger of slaughtering the sacrifice in Al-Aqsa?

Abhis explains the keenness of the temple groups to slaughter the oblation in Al-Aqsa by their endeavor to complete the cycle of biblical worship, which is performed only inside it according to their belief, and the completion of the cycle of worship is only by slaughtering the oblation, and by achieving this the mosque becomes a structure from the moral point of view, and they move from the moral foundation to the physical, by By deducting parts of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and herein lies the danger.

He pointed out that sacrificing sacrifices in Al-Aqsa complicates the Islamic mission in preserving the identity of the mosque, because these groups will have achieved a moral gain through which they can recruit more Zionists and evangelical Christians in their project, given that they have completed the cycle of biblical worship.

In turn, Maarouf explained that the Temple groups actually carried out most of the rituals related to the Temple inside Al-Aqsa, openly or secretly, and some of them with the complicity of the occupation police, such as blowing the trumpet on the Hebrew New Year, and offering vegetable offerings on the Feast of the Throne, and thus it remains only to slaughter the sacrifice and burn it in Al-Aqsa. Then they start trying to insert tools and achieve spatial division.

Is slaughter in Al-Aqsa currently possible?

Abhis warns against the Arab and Palestinian dealings with the sacrifice of the sacrament as a false and misleading agenda, and confirms that the Temple groups are serious in heading towards slaughter, and have a real will to impose the Temple, as they gradually revive the idea of ​​the sacrifice for 9 years, and promote it in the media, religiously and politically, but there are 3 important variables It increases the possibility of slaughtering the sacrifice, which is:

• The Temple groups have exceptional influence in the current Israeli government, and view this as a historical window that will not be repeated and must be exploited to the fullest extent.
• That the Israeli Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir was a volunteer lawyer to defend those arrested for attempting to slaughter the sacrament, and dealt with the sacrament as a duty, on the level of his personal conviction and political work.
• The penetration of religious Zionism into the Israeli police system, and the loyalty of many police leaders to Minister Ben Gvir, his current and his ideas, and this penetration raises the possibility of police complicity with Temple groups or passing the sacrificial slaughter indirectly and portraying it as an event beyond its control.

The two researchers unanimously agree that the success of the sacrificial sacrifice in Al-Aqsa Mosque is linked to the extent of Arab and Islamic deterrence and pressure, or indolence towards the violations of the occupation in Al-Aqsa Mosque, in addition to the amount of price that the occupation will pay for carrying out the slaughter in particular or its encroachment on Al-Aqsa Mosque in general.