The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has warned of the consequences of any Israeli actions aimed at changing the identity of al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.

In a statement on Friday, Hamas described the incitement against al-Aqsa Mosque and the repeated incursions of the compound of the holy site as “a dangerous escalatory step that comes amid the Zionist plans which are aimed at Judaizing it and obliterating its features and extending the fascist settlers’ control over it.”

The statement called on Palestinians to intensify their sit-ins at the compound of al-Aqsa Mosque to thwart the Zionist plots.

Hamas also urged the Arab and Muslim countries as well as the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to shoulder their responsibilities and take action to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and violations of Islamic sanctities.

The statement came as an Israeli settler group dubbed the “Temple Mount Activists”, which advocates for building a temple in place of al-Aqsa, posted an AI-made video showing a large fire near the Dome of the Rock in the compound of al-Aqsa Mosque, accompanied by a caption that reads “Coming soon in these days.”

The video came amid repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa by Israeli settlers under the protection of the regime’s forces.

In August, the regime’s hawkish minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led hundreds of settlers into the mosque compound in the occupied East al-Quds.

Ben-Gvir said that it was his “policy” to allow Jewish prayers on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site where only Muslims are allowed to pray under a status quo arrangement originally reached more than a century ago.

Ben-Gvir also revealed his intention to build a Jewish synagogue inside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The provocative moves came amid Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip that has killed 41,118 Palestinians and injured nearly 95,125 others since October 7.

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