The Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Arab news agency Shehab is reporting of plans to confront Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount on Friday.
A post on the news agency’s Facebook page reads as follows, "Calls in Jerusalem by the department of sacred properties and preachers in the mosques in occupied Al-Quds to delay the Eid al-Adha prayer in the Al-Aqsa Mosque until 9:00 a.m. in order to block the path for the Temple groups planning to break into Al-Aqsa after the Muslims leave.”
The call came a day after Najah Bakhirat, president of the Al-Aqsa Academy of Endowments and Heritage, claimed that "there is an Israeli plan with American support to empty the city of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Palestinian residents and turn it into a holy place for Jews."
He warned that "Israel wants to Judaize Jerusalem and remove its Arabs as part of the preparation for the rebuilding of their Temple."
Palestinian Arabs continuously falsely claim that Israel is “Judaizing” Jerusalem, which they claim is their capital, in an attempt to erase the Muslim connection to the city.
The claim that Israel plans to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with a Holy Temple is common among Palestinian Arab officials. Israel has also been accused of using chemicals to erode the foundations of the mosque in order to cause it to collapse.