Jamāl Zḥaḥalka, chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, claimed that the thousands of visitors to the Temple Mount, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is not a private initiative or a move related only to Ben-Gvir.
According to him, this is a declared government policy intended to increase the number of Jewish visitors and to establish a new status quo.
In an interview with the Arab-Israeli news website Al-Jaramak, Zḥaḥalka said, "The problem is not only Ben-Gvir and the settlers, but the government and the Israel Police that enable these breaches into the al-Aqsa mosque compound in such numbers and in this way."
He said that the "breach" today took place in the context of Tisha B’Av, which, he claimed, is being used by extremist Temple Mount organizations to strengthen their narrative regarding the site and to renew calls for the establishment of the Third Temple instead of the al-Aqsa mosque.
Zḥaḥalka accused Israeli authorities of systematic, gradual action to change the historical and legal status of the al-Aqsa mosque, by increasing the number of Jewish visitors, granting additional facilitations to Jews, and tightening restrictions on Muslim worshippers.
In this context, Zḥaḥalka emphasized that Arab citizens of Israel and Jerusalem residents form the first line of defense for the al-Aqsa mosque through their regular presence there, and that the Committee calls on the public to visit the site and support the Arab residents of Jerusalem.