The Hamas Islamic Resistance movement issued a press release by Ismail Haniyeh regarding developments in Al-Aqsa Mosque, in which they inadvertently admit that until this week's Temple Mount closure, Israel has allowed practice of their faith "in complete freedom ... for half a century", reported The Tower.
The Temple Mount was reopened Monday with additional security measures to prevent further violence, including magnetometers. Hamas on Saturday called for a “religious war” against Israel following the brief closure.
The claim that Israel plans to seize control of the mosque that sits on the Temple Mount has been at the heart of Muslim incitement against Jews for at least a century, and continues to be invoked across the Arab and Muslim world by leaders looking to deflect attention from themselves and focus it onto Israel. The claim has been at the heart of Hamas rhetoric since its inception.
Hamas' admission that prior to Friday’s closure, Muslims had been able to practice their faith “in complete freedom for… half a century” coincides with Israel's liberation of the Temple Mount during the June, 1967 Six-Day War.