The Nepal Weekly 
March 12, 2024
Hamas has reiterated a call for Palestinians to step up visits to al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israel has accused Hamas of “striving to ignite the region during Ramadan”, which begins on Monday for Palestinians.
The third holiest shrine in Islam is a place of worship for local Muslims.
But the site – also the holiest place in Judaism, known as Temple Mount – is often a flashpoint during flare-ups in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Ramadan is due to begin on Monday for Palestinians with the sighting of the new moon.
Last week, the courtyards of al-Aqsa were calm as I visited, but Palestinian worshippers’ minds were on the war.
“People don’t feel like celebrating and enjoying the regular Ramadan traditions,” said one woman, Ayat, sadly. “This year, they won’t go ahead because of what’s happening in Gaza.”
Hopes that a 40-day ceasefire could take effect by the start of Ramadan have faded although Egyptian sources hinted mediators would again meet a Hamas delegation on Sunday to try to reach an agreement with Israel.
Israel said on Saturday that its spy chief had met with his US counterpart as it continued efforts to try to release dozens of hostages.
Afterwards the Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement saying Hamas was “holding to its position,” as if it was “uninterested in a deal.” A framework plan being discussed would see some of the Israeli hostages snatched by Hamas in its deadly attacks on Oct. 7 released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and an increase in aid, amid UN warnings of famine.
“This Ramadan will be difficult. How will we break our daily fast and eat when we think of our compatriots in Gaza,” remarked Abu Nader, who had been following the news, as he crossed al-Aqsa in his mobility scooter.
Israeli police are always visibly spotted around the vast al-Aqsa mosque complex and have officers present at every gate, controlling access.
This weekend, thousands of police have been deployed in the Old City where tens of thousands of worshippers are expected daily at the al-Aqsa mosque.
Since Israel captured East Jerusalem, including this part of the Old City, from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and occupied and annexed it, the site has become a prominent symbol of the wider Palestinian struggle.
In 2000, the visit of then Israeli opposition leader, Ariel Sharon to the sacred hilltop was seen as a key trigger for the Second Palestinian Uprising, which Palestinians refer to as the “al-Aqsa Intifada”.
There are frequent clashes here between Israeli security forces and Palestinian worshippers, particularly during Ramadan.
Tensions also escalated whenever there are Israeli nationalist marches in the Old City, and in response to calls from Israel’s far-right to change the long-established, highly sensitive religious status quo rules at the site, which permit Jewish visitors but not Jewish prayer.
In May 2021, heightened tensions in Jerusalem erupted in violence at al-Aqsa. Hamas then fired rockets at Jerusalem, leading to a short war in Gaza and widespread unrest between Jewish and Arab Israelis.
Last year, when Ramadan overlapped with the Jewish Passover holiday, reports circulated that Jewish extremists planned to carry out the ritual sacrifice of a goat on Temple Mount.
Not trusting Israeli police to prevent that, hundreds of Muslims barricaded themselves in al-Aqsa and stun grenades were used against them. This year, Ramadan does not coincide with any major Jewish holiday.
