File Photo: A view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City. AFP
In a statement, the observatory said some Hebrew media outlets have portrayed the decline as a “decrease in religious motivation” among Muslims. It rejected that claim, saying the drop is not voluntary but the result of forced expulsion orders, arbitrary arrests of murabitoun—those who maintain a permanent presence at the mosque—and restrictions imposed by Israel's extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The observatory said Israeli police have tightened restrictions on Palestinian worshippers while providing facilitation and protection to so-called “Temple groups” seeking to impose a new reality at the mosque.
It warned that these measures aim to impose a policy of “fait accompli” to gradually Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque, ultimately serving extremist groups’ ambition to build the Temple on its ruins.
Earlier on Monday, dozens of Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
The Al-Quds Governorate said 84 settlers entered the compound, performed Talmudic rituals, and carried out provocative acts in the mosque’s courtyards, while Israeli forces imposed restrictions on Palestinian worshippers.
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