PLO and Fatah official falsely claims that Israel is committing "blatant aggression" against Al-Aqsa Mosque

Headline: “Al-Sheikh: Our people will thwart the occupation’s plans at the Al-Aqsa Mosque through its unity and resolve”

“PLO Executive Committee member and Fatah Central Committee member Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh said: ‘The dangerous Israeli escalation at the Noble Sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount), whose goal is to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque [between Jews and Muslims] according to areas and times, constitutes blatant aggression against our holy sites. Our people will thwart this through its unity and its resolve.’”

Hussein Al-Sheikh also serves as Head of Civil Affairs in the PA.

“Division according to areas and times” refers to a submission of a “private bill” by Israeli MP Uri Ariel in March 2003. The bill suggested ensuring freedom of religious worship by allowing both Jews and Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount - what the Palestinians call the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza. The bill sought to designate separate prayer times and areas of the site for Muslims and Jews. The bill never progressed past the initial legislatory stage. While there was additional discussion on the subject in 2012, no legislation was ever passed. In response to the incessant PA claims that the “division according to areas and times” of the Temple Mount is an operative Israeli plan, former Israeli PM Netanyahu stated on many occasions that the Israeli government has no intention of ‎changing the so-called status quo on the Temple Mount, which de facto is interpreted to mean Jews are only allowed to enter the Temple Mount, but not to conduct individual or communal prayers there. In July 2021, Israeli PM Naftali Bennett said Muslims and Jews have freedom of worship at the Temple Mount, which was understood by many as a hint to changing the status quo at the site, but the following day his office backtracked and said he misspoke and did not mean Jews would have freedom of worship, but rather would have freedom to visit. “There is no change in the status quo,” a statement from PM Bennett’s office confirmed.y type of worship.