South Africans are watching developments around Masjidul Aqsa with concern afrer Palestinians and Israelis clashed outside the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Sunday. The clash apparently was a result of Israeli forces breaking into the compound to allow Jewish worshippers onto the site. The soldiers were said to have fired rubber coated bullets within the compound as well as using stun grenades and tear gas. The Israeli soldiers claimed that they entered the mosque after “masked rioters” threw stones at them, “with the aim of preventing further injury to police”.

The Al-Aqsa mosque compound has seen rising tensions in recent days which seems to be a regular occurrence. Israeli forces accompany non Muslim worshippers into the compound which has further created tensions between the Muslims that pray there and those who occupy the land and allows the sanctuary to be opened up.

Maulana Igsaan Hendricks, president of the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) says that the clashes are part of a greater division plan to gain full control of the compound. People of the Jewish faith believe that the compound was once the site of the first and second temple in Judaism which was subsequently destroyed before Al-Aqsa was said to have been built. Thus, the site holds religious significance for people of the Jewish and Muslim faith.

“What they (occupiers) also want is to regulate the movement of the Muslims within the compound,” Hendricks further explained.

This, however, is done where Muslims are forbidden access to Al Aqsa compound at certain times and sometimes during prayer times. By regulating the times which one may enter the compound will ensure that control of the mosques will no longer be in Muslim hands.

“I think that once they succeed in time division and then they (occupiers) want to move to divide the compound into two,” Hendricks continued.

At the end of June, International Crisis Group reported discussions between Israel and the Islamic Endowment that controls the mosque compound on allowing non-Muslim worship at the site, although the move has not yet been confirmed.

Furthermore, the mosque of Prophet Ebrahim (AS) was divided into two in the city of Hebron where Muslims and people of the Jewish faith would need to enter through separate entrances in order to worship in the Mosque. Hendricks says that this seems to be the plan for the Al Aqsa compound.

He further goes onto state this is not a question of religion, but a matter of the unlawful occupation of a country and its people. Christian holy sites in Palestine have also been targeted by settlers.

Hendricks urges people from the Muslim community and all over the world to show their support and solidarity towards the people of Palestine, which is “a human rights issue”. VOC (Umarah Hartley)