Palestinians walk at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City May 21, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

In anticipation of the large number of Jews who would visit the Western Wall to celebrate the Jewish New Year last weekend, the Palestinian Authority (PA) attacked Jews as “infidels” who would “defile” the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a televised sermon on the eve Rosh Hashanah, PA Minister of Religious Affairs Hatem Al-Bakri preached that “criminal” Jewish “infidels” would “defile” the Muslim holy sites, and prayed that Allah would purify the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Cave of the Patriarchs:

PA Minister of Religious Affairs Hatem Al-Bakri: “Allah, purifythe Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque [i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs] from the defilement of the criminal infidels, O Master of the Universe.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Sept. 15 2023]

A Fatah spokesperson stated that the Jews have always “secretly plotted” to harm the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and warned that they are now planning to destroy it:

Fatah Spokesperson in Jerusalem Muhammad Rabia: “[In the past, the Jews] secretly plotted and prepared projects and plans, which targeted the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Today this is being carried out openly by bringing the red heifers that they [the Jews] will slaughter and scatter their ashes … to purify themselves and allow them to break into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. They are dividing [the mosque] according to time and area, and now they are planning to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Sept. 4, 2023]

PA minister Al-Bakri repeated this recently:

PA Minister of Religious Affairs Hatem Al-Bakri: “There is a plan by the occupation that has targeted this site [the Al-Aqsa Mosque]. This plan was prepared 50 years before the establishment of the State of Israel [in 1948]. They prepared these plans, and they are carrying them out every day. They are attempting to reach the final point, which is eliminating the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the acts of harm are continuing against all the Christian and Muslim holy sites.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV News, Aug. 21, 2023]

The Islamic religious leadership in Jerusalem has also exhorted Palestinians to take actions to prevent Jews from “defiling” the Muslim sites, completely ignoring the fact that the Temple Mount is one of Judaism’s holy sites:

The Islamic organizations in Jerusalem … called on every Palestinian and Muslim who can to carry out Ribat [i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic] in the alleys, houses of worship, benches, and plazas of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / the Noble Jerusalem Sanctuary [i.e., the Temple Mount], with its entire territory that stands at 144 dunams (144,000 sq. meters), so that it will remain pure of the infidels’ defilement and precious and pure for the Muslims only, as Allah granted them in the holy Quran.” [emphasis added]

[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 27, 2023]

A spokesperson for PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeina, has likewise denied Jews any right to pray at the Western Wall or visit the Temple Mount, categorizing the sites as “a pure right of the Muslims only”:

Official Spokesperson for the [PA] Presidential Office Nabil Abu Rudeina … emphasized that the Israeli attempts to change the historical status quo in Jerusalem are unacceptable and fated to fail. He also emphasized that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque isa pure right of the Muslims only.” [emphasis added]

[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 27, 2023]

Similarly, Abbas’ Fatah condemned Jews at the Western Wall who were part of an anti-judicial reform group, as “invading settlers”:

Posted text: “Settlers invade the Al-Buraq Wall [i.e., the Western Wall of the Temple Mount] and hold Talmudic prayers this morning in occupied Jerusalem.”

[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture,
Facebook page, July 23, 2023]

Palestinian Media Watch has shown that the PA intentionally mislabels Judaism’s holiest site — the entire Temple Mount and the Western Wall — as “the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” and defines all Jews who visit or come to pray as “invading settlers” who “break in” and “defile” the mosque.

Additionally, it should be noted that Jews who visit the Temple Mount are restricted to specific sections of the open areas and are barred from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount is prohibited because of threats of terrorism by Palestinians.

To combat the “defilement” of “extremist settlers,” the Palestinian National Council — the legislative body of the PLO — called for violence and terror, using the PA euphemism “resistance,” vowing that “Palestine” will be liberated.

The authors are the Founder and Director, and a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.