Hamas called on Gaza’s residents to perform Fajr prayers, the first prayer of the five each day that precedes sunrise, in grand mosques across the coastal enclave, in response to a call made by Palestinian defenders of Al-Aqsa to perform the prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and other mosques across Palestine.

The prayers are held in protest against the Israeli judaization schemes to holy sites in the West Bank, including al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

In a press release, Hamas urged the Palestinian people to “raise the alarm” and attend Fajr prayers next Friday, January 17, at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Ibrahimi mosque.

This peaceful campaign is a message to the Israeli occupation and a warning that Palestinian holy sites are a red line, Hamas added.   

Hailing the Palestinian people of the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and the 1948 occupied territories for their steadfastness in the face of Israeli schemes targeting their rights, Hamas praised the mass crowds that attend prayers every day at the al-Aqsa Mosque and Ibrahimi Mosque defying all Israeli threats and suppressive measures.

The dangerous Israeli plans targeting the al-Aqsa Mosque and Ibrahimi mosque, including daily storming and defilement of the sacred sites while restricting the Palestinian access to them and attacking Palestinian worshippers and banning them from entering the holy compounds, obviously threaten their existence and Islamic identity, the Palestinian movement continued.

Hamas pointed out that Israeli violations against Palestinian sacred places had escalated in a bid to impose a new fait accompli at them.