Hamas official Abdul Rahman Shadid has issued a statement encouraging Palestinians to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque throughout the fasting month of Ramadan and stay there to conduct religious rituals during this month, according to the Palestinian Shehab news agency.

Shadid also said that Palestinians should not accept the Israeli regime’s restrictions and must insist on their historical and religious rights concerning this mosque.

All residents of al-Quds city, the 1948 occupied territories, and the West Bank, who have access to the mosque, must protect it, he said. The Hamas official added that the restrictions imposed by the occupiers and their illegal settlement projects cannot sever the connection between the holy mosque and its rightful owners; instead, such moves will strengthen Palestinians’ resolve to protect the site and resist Judaization plans.

According to Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that the regime plans to deploy 3,000 military personnel at checkpoints leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan to prevent recently released Palestinian prisoners from entering the area around the holy site.

The Israeli regime has a long history of restricting Palestinians’ access to the mosque, even during Ramadan, which has faced resistance from the oppressed nation. The regime occupied eastern al-Quds, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the Arab-Israeli war in 1967. In 1980, it annexed the entire city in a move that the international community has never recognized.

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