Palestinian scholars, Arab and Islamic groups call for Friday of anger in support of Aqsa

The call followed an emergency meeting attended by around 370 Arab and Islamic scholars, public figures, intellectuals and representatives of institutions and political parties. Participants discussed rapidly developing events at Aqsa and called for broader popular, religious and media mobilization in support of the Mosque and Palestine.

Calls for widespread mobilization on Friday

The Association of Palestinian Scholars urged Muslim scholars, preachers and Friday prayer preachers, as well as political parties, organizations, institutions, young people and the wider public, to participate actively in Friday’s events.

The association called for the revival of the “Great Dawn” prayer campaign and urged imams to dedicate Friday sermons to Aqsa Mosque, the continuing settler raids and attempts to alter the existing situation at the holy site.

The calls also included organizing rallies, sit-ins and popular and media activities, while ensuring that Aqsa remains a central issue in mosques, public squares, universities and the media, turning Friday into a broad day of solidarity with the Mosque and the Palestinian people.

The Al-Quds International Institution called on Palestinians in Al-Quds, the occupied West Bank and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 to intensify their presence at Aqsa Mosque.

It also urged people, organizations and institutions across the Arab and Islamic world to organize a range of activities, including Great Dawn prayers, Friday sermons, rallies, sit-ins and demonstrations.

Public Jewish rituals at Aqsa ahead of Friday mobilization

The calls come as hundreds of Israeli settlers raided Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday, the fifth day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, under the protection of Israeli police.

A number of settlers performed the “Four Species” ritual and carried what they referred to as “plant offerings”.

Palestinian figures indicated that 1,317 settlers stormed the Mosque compound during the day. Former Israeli Knesset member Moshe Feiglin was also documented performing the Four Species ritual in the eastern section of Aqsa.

Recent days have seen religious symbols and rituals brought into the Mosque compound, including the Four Species, “plant offerings” and the “Priestly Blessing”, alongside prayers and religious chants.

The developments have prompted Palestinian warnings that such practices are being increasingly normalized inside Al-Aqsa in ways that could alter the religious and historical status quo governing the holy site.

Al-Quds International calls for major day of action

In a separate statement, the Al-Quds International Institution called for Friday to become a major day of action in support of Aqsa.

The organization also called on Arab and Muslim leaders to assume their responsibilities towards the Mosque and urged them to take practical measures in response to what it said were efforts to change the existing status quo at Aqsa.

The calls come amid continuing Jewish settler raids on the Mosque during the Jewish holiday season and increasing restrictions on Palestinian worshipers seeking to reach the holy site.

Palestinian organizations have repeatedly warned that the expansion of public Jewish religious rituals inside the compound risks establishing new practices that could gradually alter the longstanding arrangements governing Aqsa.

The organizations behind Friday’s initiative said the day should serve as an opportunity to expand popular, religious and media engagement in support of Aqsa.

The Al-Quds International Institution also called for broader Arab and Islamic action, including a stronger Jordanian response to developments at the Mosque.