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Hamas, PA officials call for Temple Mount violence during Ramadan: NGO

Palestinian Authority officials threaten ‘violent response’ if Jews visit the Temple Mount.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Officials from the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terror group are signaling that they are gearing up for violent clashes on the Temple Mount during the upcoming Ramadan holiday, Zionist NGO Your Jerusalem told World Israel News.

The organization monitors Islamic terror and calls to violence on social media and in media statements from Palestinian officials and religious leaders, particularly in the Jewish State’s capital city.

Previous years have seen a spike in terror incidents during the month-long Islamic festival, which begins this Wednesday evening. On the last day of Ramadan in May 2021, Hamas terrorists fired a salvo of rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, sparking the Israel-Gaza clash Operation Guardian of the Walls.

“Your Jerusalem has noted a huge uptick in incitement to terror and violence in Jerusalem and in Israel, from Hamas and other terror groups,” Maor Tzemach, the CEO of the group, told World Israel News.

Tzemach referenced a statement from a Hamas spokesman, who said that the terror group “is following the Israeli actions [such as permitting Jewish prayer] on the Temple Mount for Ramadan, and will respond accordingly.”

He noted that even figures who are not affiliated with Hamas, such as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who is chosen by the Palestinian Authority, are making public statements calling for a decisive “response” towards Israeli activities on the Temple Mount.

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“The current Mufti said he expects Arab countries to ‘defend Jerusalem and its residents,’ and that he hopes that there won’t be ‘Israeli provocations’ during Ramadan.”

An example of an “Israel provocation,” Tzemach said, would be Jews visiting the Temple Mount compound – which is the holiest site in Judaism – during the Passover holiday.

Because Passover overlaps with several days of Ramadan this year, It’s likely that Israel will permit Jews to tour the site. Muslim figures have long framed the temporary presence of Jews on the site as inherently provocative.

“We expect some kind of attack that will be justified as ‘protecting Al-Aqsa,’” Tzemach said.

“There’s no doubt that this Ramadan will be very tense, and we’re experiencing an increase in terror and incitement, so the security situation is strained,” he added.

“God willing, we’ll get through this time peacefully.”