As Passover approaches, Palestinian leaders are sounding alarms that Jews intend to carry out the Biblical Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount. The warnings have spread through official Palestinian channels and media outlets, framing the possibility of a Jewish ritual as a dangerous provocation and a threat to the “Islamic character” of the site. The rhetoric arrives amid heightened tensions in Jerusalem and follows years of similar claims that have repeatedly inflamed violence.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s department for “Al-Quds affairs” issued a statement warning of what it described as plans by “settlers” to perform the Passover sacrifice during the upcoming holiday. The organization characterized the alleged plans as part of “systematic Israeli attempts to change the historical and legal status” of the Temple Mount.

According to the PLO statement, religious arguments are being used to justify “establishing facts on the ground.” The organization also claimed that right-wing elements within the Israeli government are backing efforts to allow Jewish prayer and ceremonies on the Temple Mount.

The PLO reiterated its claim that the entire compound is an exclusively Islamic place of worship and asserted that decisions by the United Nations and UNESCO support that position. Based on that inaccurate claim, it warned that any Jewish ritual conducted there would constitute a violation of international law.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The Bible describes it as the location chosen for the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), where the central rituals of the Jewish people were performed for centuries. Israeli law mandates religious freedom but allows the police to impose temporary restrictions based on security concerns.

Among those rituals was the Passover sacrifice, known in Hebrew as the Korban Pesach. The commandment appears explicitly in the Bible. The Korban Pesach is of utmost importance. There are only two mitzvot (Biblical commandments) for which non-compliance receives the most severe punishment mandated by the Torah, karet (being cut off from the community or excommunicated): brit milah (circumcision) and the korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice).

The Torah states explicitly that the requirement to perform the Passover is eternal:

And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. Exodus 12:24

Like every other public time-bound sacrifice, the Passover sacrifice must be brought even in a state of ritual impurity.In his commentary on the Bible, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the preeminent 11th-century French Torah scholar known by the acronym “Rashi” stated that the Jewish return to Israel and the end of exile will not be complete until the Passover sacrifice is reinstated in its proper place and at its proper time.

The current controversy erupted after several Temple-focused activist groups publicized campaigns promoting the renewal of the Biblical sacrifice. Palestinian media outlets cited materials from organizations including the Temple Institute, which published an image showing a sacrificial meal with the Dome of the Rock visible in the background. The accompanying caption read: “Establishing the temple within one month may be difficult, but building the altar and renewing the sacrifice is certainly possible.”

Another widely circulated item involved an AI-generated advertisement released by Elkana Wolfson, connected to a religious school focused on Temple study. The image depicted a celebratory meal following the ritual slaughter of an animal and portrayed a Jewish Temple standing where the mosque complex currently stands.

Palestinian officials cited these materials as evidence that Israeli groups are planning to conduct sacrifices at the site during Passover, which begins April 1 and continues through April 8 this year.

The Jerusalem Governorate, a Palestinian Authority body, said the campaign represented an escalation following events in 2025 when several individuals attempted to bring small animals or pieces of meat into the Temple Mount compound. Palestinian officials described those incidents as unprecedented since Israel gained control of eastern Jerusalem in the Six-Day War.

At present, Israeli policy allows Jewish visitors to ascend to the Temple Mount during limited hours but prohibits Jewish prayer there in order to maintain the “status quo.” The term “status quo” at the Temple Mount refers to an Ottoman firman (religious ruling) issued over a century ago that favored Muslim claims to the site. This Ottoman decree has been used for decades to justify discrimination against Jewish worship.

Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel and Jordan reached an agreement that explicitly stated Jews would be afforded freedom of worship at the Temple Mount. Israel honored its commitment to allow the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Waqf to administer the site. Jordan never honored its commitment to allow Jewish prayer. For over half a century, this broken promise has denied Jews their most basic religious rights at their holiest location.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have kept the mosque compound closed for several days during the Ramadan period, citing a state of wartime emergency. Heavy police forces have been deployed throughout the Old City and around the entrances to the Temple Mount.