Operation al-Aqsa Flood

The corporate-state media alliance provides an unfair and lazy assessment of news. They spin misinformation like the Russian invasion of Ukraine began the Uranian-Russian War, the 9/11 attack marked the beginning of the War on Terrorist (Islamic), the Gulf of Tonkin started the Vietnam War, Pearl Harbor began WW2, and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood started the most recent Israeli-Palistinian conflict. 

The truth is discovered by examining the antecedents leading up to events. Reporting events like the 2014 Maidan Coup, 1991 U.S. No-fly zones (NFZs) enforcement in Iraq, the 1956 cancellation of the Geneva Accords mandated Vietnam national elections, the 1941 U.S. freeze on Japanese assets and embargo on oil and gasoline, and events at al-Aqsa might be beneficial. Corporate-state media does a horrible job of reporting the historical background that would shed a different light on their historical spin. 

The corporate-state media consumer becomes entangled in a propaganda web void of pertinent historical facts, an entrapped passenger on a pop history train. Narratives like Israeli good, Palestinian bad, Russia, and China bad have been developed by cherry-picking history and omitting pertinent antecedents.

The Hamas October 7th operation will begin a new death count, with no analysis of the deaths leading up to this attack. Washington and the compliant media may condemn the Hamas retaliatory action as the beginning of the latest war in Israel, but it is not the beginning. Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi lists a series of antecedents they considered before leveling the October 7th attack. 

Qadomi declares, “We want the international community to stop atrocities in Gaza against Palestinian people, our holy sites like al-Aqsa. All these things are the reason behind starting this battle.” Maybe someone should explain the al-Aqsa situation.

al-Aqsa

al-Aqsa is the silver-domed mosque inside a 35-acre al-Haram al-Sharif compound in Jerusalem. It is the third holiest site in Islam and the most important Muslim place in Palestine. Al-Aqsa, the Noble Sanctuary, is in the Quran. It is meaning is the furthest mosque. In early Islamic history, Muslims prayed towards this holy Jerusalem site as the qibla until Muhammad and the Muslims in Medina changed the qibla direction from Jerusalem to Mecca.

Al-Aqsa is an intricate setting for the holy day called Lailat al Miraj or Night Journey, a celebration of the Prophet’s nighttime journey from Mecca to Jerusalem. The day signifies a physical and spiritual journey. At al-Aqsa, He met with the previous prophets of Islam and His ascension into heaven and met God. God instructed Prophet Muhammad on the importance of reciting salat, or prayer, five times daily. 

The importance of the security to al-Aqsa, in Islam, is paramount. In 2017, a former legal adviser to the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs told Al Jazeera, “The issue of al-Haram al-Sharif (al-Aqsa) stands as a symbolic, but very strong catalyzer of the routine of injustice and oppression that Palestinians in Jerusalem are facing, and that causes a continuous eruption of popular anger and uprisings.” 

The Waqf – Administrative Control?

Since the Muslim reconquest of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been under the administration of a waqf, or Islamic trust, properties dedicated to the Muslim religion. The Waqf of Jerusalem is known as the Waqf.

Throughout history, entrance into al-Haram al-Sharif has changed. During the Ottoman rule of Palestine, the non-Muslims were denied entry to Haram al-Sharif. It changed in 1839. Non-Muslims were permitted to enter Temple Mount but had to obtain a special permit from the governor.

The 1948 war, after the Israeli conquest and occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, brought about another change. The Waqf would be under the control of the Kingdom of Jordan. In 1967, the protocol changed again. Jordan and Israel agreed that the Waqf would control matters inside the compound while Israel would control external security. 

Since 1967, non-Muslims would be allowed onto the site during visiting hours but would not be allowed to pray there. Praying at al-Aqsa was reserved for Muslims only. The status quo has eroded in recent years. Israeli forces have imposed severe restrictions on Muslim worshippers. 

Examples include: October 2009 – Entry restricted to Muslim men over 45 and Muslim women over 35; July 2011 – Entry restricted to Muslim men over 45; November 2014 – Entry restricted to Muslim men over 35; October 2015 – Entry restricted to Muslim men over 50 for two days; July 2017 – Entry restricted to Muslim men over 50.

The increased Israeli entrance restrictions are a change in the status quo of the Mount. The entry restrictions have been most severe on Gazans and residents of the West Bank. The Israeli government justifies these restrictions as measures taken for security reasons.

Al-Aqsa Under Attack?

Since 1920, when the father of religious Zionism, rabbi Avraham Yitzhak ha-Kohen Kook, stated that the Temple Mount would eventually be in Jewish control, many Muslims believe there is a political plot to wrestle control of the Haram itself.

Today, Israeli government-backed Temple movements, such as the Temple Mount Faithful and the Temple Institute, have challenged the Israeli ban on allowing Jews to enter the compound. Israeli forces routinely allow groups, some in the hundreds, of Jewish settlers who live in occupied Palestinian territories to descend on the al-Aqsa compound under police and army protection, stirring Palestinian fears of an Israeli takeover of al-Haram al-Sharif.

On October 2nd, nearly 1,500 Israeli fanatical settlers entered the al-Aqsa Mosque. Then, on Thursday, October 5th, more than 800 Israeli settlers stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque both times under the protection of Israeli forces. With harsher Israeli-imposed restrictions on Muslim worshippers entering al-Aqsa, Palestinians fear losing access to the compound. 

Bibi – The New-Old Sheriff Is Back In Town 

Many of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontations have coincided with the most recent prime ministership tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu. Raids against Palestinian worshippers at the mosque have increased significantly. The Israeli army and West Bank settlers inflict violence and oppression against Palestinians with no arrests. Deadly settler raids have become increasingly more regular. 

The first nine months of the Netanyahu regime have been a showcase of Israeli violence inflicted upon Palestinian civilians in Israeli-occupied lands. This year, Israeli forces have killed over 224 Palestinians (38 children), 187 in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The death count for 2023 has surpassed the record high of 178 killings in 2022. 

Currently, 1,264 Palestinians are in administrative detention without charge or trial, a two-decade high, and reports indicate 170 children incarcerated in Israeli prisons. Operation al-Aqsa Flood is a retaliatory strike. People pushed into a corner will fight back. 

Ofer Cassif of the Israeli Knesset said he warned the situation would erupt if the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not change its policies towards Palestinians. It erupted!