Al-Aqsa shrine sees surge in animal sacrifice attempts amid security concerns

Seven attempts were made by Israeli settlers to smuggle animal sacrifices into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during this year’s Jewish Passover festival, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate. This marks the highest number of such incidents documented since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound was sealed off for 40 consecutive days by Israeli authorities, citing a “state of emergency” and “security” measures linked to the US-Israel war on Iran. However, the site reopened early on Thursday morning after the restrictions were lifted.

Israeli forces had previously detained at least 14 Jewish worshippers on April 1 for attempting to reach the site to perform the ritual. Several attempts have been captured on video, showing settlers carrying baby goats in their arms or leading them through the stone alleys of the Old City before being intercepted by armed Israeli police.

Experts argue that the detentions mask a long-term strategy of encroachment on Al-Aqsa, with the eventual aim of taking it over. Suhail Khalilieh, a political analyst and expert on Jerusalem affairs, stated that the push to perform sacrifices at Al-Aqsa was not a religious matter, but rather a “political, colonial and provocative tool”.

The Israeli police’s detention of the settlers has been described as a “theatrical play” designed to absorb local and international anger while allowing gradual changes on the ground. Khalilieh noted that the push for animal sacrifices represents an “unofficial declaration of a new phase” aimed at gradually imposing Israeli Jewish sovereignty.

The Jerusalem Endowments (Waqf) and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with Jordan, is the legal entity with exclusive jurisdiction over the site. The Palestinian Authority has warned that the push for animal sacrifices represents the “peak of weaponising religious rituals as a colonial tool” to Judaise the mosque.

The settler groups have stated that the sacrificial rituals are highly symbolic and signify a transition from waiting to actual field action. However, this move goes against traditional Orthodox Jewish teaching, which bans entry to the Al-Aqsa compound.

Source: Al Jazeera