"It is not just about what is happening on the plaza but what Israel is doing outside the compound to restrict access and prayer rights for Muslims, and to change the character and atmosphere of East Jerusalem and the Old City," he told Middle East Eye.
"The government and the settlers are working hand-in-hand to create the impression that the Old City is at the core of Jewish history and identity and must be under Israeli sovereignty."
Tighter entry restrictionsPalestinian leaders have long complained that Israeli barriers and checkpoints mean few Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza can still reach Jerusalem or its holy sites.
Increasingly even those living in Jerusalem or from Israel's large minority of 1.6 million Palestinian citizens face entry restrictions.
Last year, according to official figures, the Israeli police imposed age restrictions 41 times, often preventing Palestinian men under 50 from entering.
For three weeks in late August and September, United Nations observers reported, Israel also denied entry to Palestinian women in the morning hours to allow Jewish groups access to the site. Some 500 Muslim children studying in the compound were refused entry too.
In addition, said Mizrachi, Israeli activities were cutting off the al-Aqsa compound from its Palestinian surroundings. Recent changes included:
- The extension of secretive excavations and tunnelling around the compound to create an "underground Jewish city" on the western and northern flanks of the Haram;
- The transfer of an archaeological park on the western and southern walls of al-Aqsa to an extremist Jewish settler organisation;
- The enforced closure of a historic but active Muslim cemetery, the length of the eastern side of the compound, denying Palestinian families access under the pretext that it falls within an Israeli national park.
Israel had also increased security restrictions for Palestinians on the main thoroughfare through the Old City's Muslim Quarter to al-Aqsa, further limiting access, Mizrachi noted.
"The goal of all these changes is to emphasise the Jewish character of the environment around al-Aqsa, both above and below ground," he said.
Pledge to stop Jewish prayerIsraeli officials have denied accusations that Islamic control at the site is being undermined. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed last month: "Israel is not the problem on the Temple Mount; it's the solution. We maintain the status quo."
Under pressure from Washington, Netanyahu's office quietly issued a statement a week ago, late at night and only in English: "Israel will continue to enforce its long-standing policy: Muslims pray on the Temple Mount; non-Muslims visit the Temple Mount."
Netanyahu has blamed the weeks of unrest in Jerusalem and in the West Bank on what he terms "incitement" by Palestinian leaders.
But there are indications of mounting concern in Europe and the United States that Israeli measures are weakening the status quo.
One of Kerry's officials, John Kirby, caused a diplomatic storm by telling reporters last month: "Certainly, the status quo has not been observed, which has led to a lot of the violence." Following Israeli complaints, he retracted the statement.
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