Hamas Fears Sacrifices on Temple Mount

Official media channels of Hamas have disseminated claims that the holding of Jewish worship ceremonies on the Temple Mount constitutes a "desecration" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. 

In a message published on the organization's Telegram channel, it was stated that the entire Temple Mount – according to Islamic belief – is considered an inseparable part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and therefore any Jewish action in the place, especially sacrifices, is considered a severe violation of the site's sanctity.

It was also stated that other Jewish ceremonies performed in the past, including the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the waving of the four species during Sukkot, kneeling and prostration on the floor, and bringing religious articles into the compound all represent, according to Hamas, deliberate steps to change the status quo.

Hamas claimed that sacrificing an offering on the Temple Mount, even symbolically, would conceptually turn the mosque into a Temple, thus paving the way for the practical implementation of a plan to build the Third Temple. 

According to the organization's announcement, the initial stages of this plan would include the division of areas of use on the Temple Mount – similar to the arrangement existing in the Cave of the Patriarchs – and afterwards, they claim, the construction itself would begin. (INN/VFI News)

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as god in the temple of God, showing himself that he is god.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4