Bab al-Magharibah: Joha's Nail in the Haram al-Sharif

Abstract

Even though Israel occupied the land of Arab Jerusalem in 1967, it was still not in full control of key aspects of the city. Many administrative offices of the eastern half of the city remained under Palestinian control, including the Islamic Awqaf, or religious endowment, Jerusalem's churches, and some municipal services. Slowly, Israel has applied pressure on these various offices in hopes of gaining rock-solid physical sovereignty. Certainly one of the lightening rods in this struggle for control has been the Haram al-Sharif, or al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The Muslim holy site has remained a challenge to full Israeli control nagging at the agendas of successive Israeli governments, all of which have attempted to break the Palestinian grip on the area. One might say they have entered through the front gate, using the mosque's Bab al-Magharibah as an entry point for increased Israeli control over the various duties of maintaining the Bab al-Magharibah February18.p65 17 12/04/24, 01:59 ã 18 Haram al-Sharif and monitoring its religious access. Bab al-Magharibah is located in the southern section of al-Haram al-Sharif's western wall,1 and was used by the residents of the Magharibah Quarter, which was demolished by Israeli bulldozers in June 1967.2 It also connects the Aqsa Mosque compound with Jerusalem's southern neighbourhoods, particularly Silwan. It is believed that the current gate was

Bab al-Magharibah - Al-Aqsa Mosque - Jerusalem

Politics and government - Israel - Jerusalem