Monday 16/February/2026 – 05:52 AM
The courtyards of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem witnessed a state of tension, after Israeli Knesset member Amit Halevy stormed it, in a move that the Palestinian authorities considered provocative. The storming came in conjunction with Halevy’s criticism of the decision to restrict settler raids during the noon hours in the month of Ramadan.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Halevy conducted a tour of the mosque’s courtyards, accompanied by Israeli authorities responsible for managing raids, amid increasing calls within Israeli circles to make changes to the status quo inside the mosque.
Jerusalem is moving in anticipation of an escalation after the storming of Al-Aqsa from Halevy
The governorate warned that these movements represent a threat to Islamic sanctities and an attempt to change the historical and legal reality of Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that the recent measures came in the context of a series of restrictions imposed by the occupation forces on the Palestinians in the vicinity of the mosque.
In a controversial move, the occupation authorities handed over the guard of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the freed prisoner Fadi Alyan a decision requiring his removal from the mosque for a period of six months, which increases fears of escalating tension as the month of Ramadan approaches.
These events come in light of increasing fears of the intensification of the dispute over the legal and historical status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid Palestinian and international calls to preserve the status quo and prevent any attempts to change the reality inside the courtyards.
