Storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque: 256 settlers and 4 members of the Antiquities Authority under the protection of the occupation, and calls for action.

Extremist Temple groups publish an imaginary image of the altar being built in place of the Dome of the Chain and for the ritual of offering animal sacrifices on it.

The Jerusalem Governorate stated that Al-Aqsa Mosque will remain purely Islamic, no matter how many crimes extremists commit and no matter how intense the attempts at forgery.

Yesterday, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed a massive storming by 256 settlers and four employees of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, under heavy protection from the occupation police and special forces. This storming comes amid escalating calls for mobilization and solidarity by religious and national authorities to confront the alleged escalation of the Temple groups during the so-called Hebrew Passover.

The raid coincided with statements by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who announced the resumption of settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque after Eid al-Fitr. Temple groups also published an imaginary image showing the minister carrying a living sacrifice inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, in an attempt to inflame the religious sentiments of their constituency.

As part of these efforts, Temple activists launched a campaign to smuggle animal sacrifices into Al-Aqsa Mosque, in an attempt to build religious momentum in preparation for the planned raids coinciding with the Jewish Passover holiday, which begins at sunset on Saturday, April 12, 2025, and continues until sunset on Saturday, April 19.

Extremist activist Arnon Segal also posted a new image depicting a mythical biblical altar at the site of the Dome of the Chain, with an imaginary animal sacrifice ritual. The image depicts the altar as if it had been built on the site, surrounded by a number of "temple priests" presumably leading prayers according to biblical legend, with a small lamb being prepared as a sacrifice.

The image shows the legendary stone altar as if it had been built on the site of the Dome of the Chain, to the east of the Dome of the Rock. It was surrounded by a number of "temple priests," a class that led prayers in the alleged temple according to biblical legend. They lit the fire to which the sacrifice was offered, according to that legend. A small lamb is seen in the image being prepared for sacrifice.

Temple groups promote the baseless, delusional claim that the Dome of the Chain was built specifically to obliterate the features of the legendary biblical altar. Between 2010 and 2013, they worked to disrupt a project to renovate the tiles that cover it from above, claiming that this project "obliterates traces of the biblical altar."

Extremist Temple groups are seeking to establish the ritual of animal sacrifice in Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of their effort to change its identity by performing all the biblical rituals there. They consider this to be a "spiritual foundation of the Temple" that paves the way for its physical establishment. The Passover sacrifice occupies the position of the pinnacle of the rituals they seek to impose for two reasons: First, it is the pinnacle of the biblical rituals in the alleged Temple, according to biblical legend...

The second consideration is their belief that it is a gateway to divine salvation. These groups believe that the blood of this sacrifice is one of the elements linked to God's approval and will to send a savior to perform the great miracle by which "the Lord will subjugate the nations to the people of Israel." This is perhaps the central motivation of the "Temple Groups," as salvation groups. Their political work aims to hasten divine salvation, which they view as the only gateway to resolving religious and political conflict in the region and the world.

On the second day of Eid al-Fitr, talk of the Red Cow was renewed across several media outlets and activists from the Christian Zionist movement in the United States, and the imminent ritual of slaughtering the Red Cow. Despite claims that the ritual of purification with the ashes of the Red Cow has not been performed for two thousand years, according to biblical and Talmudic sources that speak of this legend, these sources claim that the date on which this ritual was performed was the second of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which this year was the second day of Eid al-Fitr, Monday, March 31, 2025.

The extremist Temple organizations and the religious Zionist movement call for the realization of the legend of the Red Heifer and the circumvention of the rabbinic prohibition on storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. The officially accepted rabbinic opinion is based on the fact that any Jew entering the Temple must be completely pure, including purity from the impurity of the dead, from which no Jew is exempt today. Purity from this can only be achieved through the ritual of purification with the ashes of the Red Heifer. Since this ritual has not been performed, the official rabbinate prohibits Jews from participating in storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which the rabbinate claims is the site of the alleged Temple. This reduces the number of Zionist Jews participating in the storming.

The so-called Temple organizations are counting on circumventing this ban by finding the red cow and performing the ritual of purification with it on the Mount of Olives, such that the number of those storming Al-Aqsa will reach thousands daily, paving the way for them to obliterate its identity and establish the Temple in its place. They also view the appearance of the red cow and the ritual of purification with its ashes as one of the signs of the coming of the savior and the beginning of the era of divine miracles, which is the goal to which these organizations are dedicated, and it is the common goal that unites Jewish religious Zionism with the Western Christian Zionist movement.

The Temple Institute and the extremist organization “Bon Yisrael” devoted all their efforts to realizing this myth. They worked to revive the priestly class that is supposed to carry out the purification ritual and to produce the tools and clothing required for it. They also seized a plot of land on the Mount of Olives opposite the Dome of the Rock. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs in the extremist Israeli government worked to rehabilitate the road and pedestrian paths to it. They also worked to bring in five red cows by air from the American state of Texas in October 2022, hoping that they would reach the age of two years, fulfilling all the biblical conditions: pure red, having not given birth, been milked, ridden, drawn by a waterwheel, or been scratched. This was achieved in February 2024, which prompted these groups to launch a broad campaign with their allies from Christian Zionism to carry out the purification ritual on April 11, 2024. This was not possible for them to complete for several reasons, the most important of which was the political situation during the war at the time.

Today, these sources say that two of the five cows no longer meet the biblical requirements, and the Talmudic deadline for their slaughter has arrived for the second time since their arrival and their reaching the required age. It should be noted here that the websites of the Temple organizations have not published any explicit calls for the ritual slaughter and purification of the cows. However, their allies in Christian Zionism are talking about the possibility of holding the purification ritual, and some of their sources indicate that this ritual may be held secretly and without prior announcement.

Dozens of settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday under heavy protection from the occupation police, amid calls for mobilization, solidarity, and the confrontation of the Temple Mount groups during the so-called Hebrew Passover holiday.

The Islamic Waqf Department reported that the morning raids involved 92 settlers, 95 students from extremist religious schools and Torah colleges, and four employees from the Israel Antiquities Authority. 320 foreign tourists also stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Mughrabi Gate without coordination with the Waqf Department, some of whom joined the settlers on their tours and listened to explanations from representatives of the alleged Temple Mount group.

The settlers carried out the raids in groups, each led by a follower of the alleged Temple. They provided explanations about the alleged Temple and conducted provocative tours and Talmudic prayers in the eastern area of the mosque.

In the second raid, after the noon prayer, Amnon Friedman, the chief rabbi of the alleged Temple community, participated in the raids, as part of a second group that included 65 settlers, in addition to 21 tourists.

Israeli police tightened their security measures at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and around the Old City of Jerusalem, obstructing the entry of worshippers during settlement tours. Extremist Temple groups had called on settlers to escalate their attempts to bring in and slaughter Passover sacrifices into and around the mosque, a week before the official start of the holiday on the 13th of this month.

These calls come amid escalating attempts by settlers to impose their religious rituals on Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid Palestinian warnings of the repercussions of such a move on the situation in the holy city.

In contrast, Palestinian religious and national bodies have issued calls to mobilize the largest possible number of worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially in the coming days leading up to the Jewish Passover holiday.

The calls emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque from the early hours of dawn to thwart settler plots and prevent any attempts to bring in offerings or perform Talmudic rituals.

Jerusalemite authorities and religious authorities warned that these attempts represent a dangerous escalation aimed at Judaizing Al-Aqsa Mosque and imposing new facts on the ground. They emphasized that defending Al-Aqsa Mosque is a religious and national duty that calls for increased attendance at the mosque during this sensitive period.

Extremist Temple groups have called on settlers to escalate their attempts to bring in and slaughter Passover sacrifices in and around the mosque, a week before the official start of the holiday on the 13th of this month.

These calls come amid escalating attempts by settlers to impose their religious rituals on Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid Palestinian warnings of the repercussions of such a move on the situation in the holy city.

For its part, the Jerusalem Governorate considered the extremist "Temple Groups" intention to slaughter the "Passover sacrifice" inside and around the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem a dangerous escalation that comes in the context of persistent and frantic attempts to target Islamic and Christian holy sites, most notably Al-Aqsa.

The governorate said in a statement that these calls, which coincide with photos and parades published by prominent figures in these settler groups, with direct support and incitement from ministers and officials in the occupation government, headed by extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, represent a provocation and a blatant violation of Muslims' feelings, and an assault on their religious rights in one of their holiest sanctities, which represents a purely Islamic site recognized by all international laws and all UNESCO and UN resolutions.

The governorate warned that this frantic effort to perform "biblical rituals" inside Al-Aqsa Mosque constitutes a serious assault on the historical and legal status quo (State of Israel), and constitutes a clear violation and interference in the Hashemite custodianship and the official Jordanian role in managing Islamic endowments and holy sites in the Holy City, including the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards.

"These dangerous attempts are part of a systematic religious war waged by colonialist organizations supported by the occupation government, with the aim of Judaizing Al-Aqsa Mosque and dividing it temporally and spatially, paving the way for complete control over it. These practices will only lead to an explosion in the situation in Jerusalem and the entire region, dragging it toward waves of violence and perhaps a religious war with dire consequences."

The Jerusalem Governorate held the occupation government fully responsible for these calls and any escalation that might result from them. It called on the international community, as well as Arab and Islamic countries, to intervene immediately to curb these extremist groups and prevent Jerusalem from being transformed into an arena for religious conflict by Israel's aggressive policies.

She stressed that "Jerusalem, with its holy sites, is not a place for Talmudic rituals, and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque will remain purely Islamic, no matter how severe the crimes committed by extremists and no matter how intense the attempts at forgery and seizure."