TNA Staff
The New Arab / August 24, 2026
Members of Al-Aqsa’s Board of Trustees said the move was an effort to change the character of the area and erase its Islamic historical context.
Israeli authorities have changed the name of one of the historic gates leading to the highly revered al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, triggering major concerns that this is an example of the latest efforts to change the character of the area.
Photographs of roads leading to Al-Aqsa now show signs which refer to the gate as the ‘Ancient Gate’ in Arabic, English and Hebrew.
Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of Al-Aqsa’s Board of Trustees, told The New Arab that the move to change the signs “is part of Israel’s plans to change the visual identity of areas with Palestinian, Arabic and Islamic symbolism in Jerusalem”.
Abu Diab noted that Israeli authorities started off with one of the most prominent and important gates in the Old City, which is sometimes referred to as “Victory Gate” – a name that emerged after the Second Intifada.
“The gate’s name also has significance in Islamic history, as it is one of the entrances to the Old City and is linked to the narrative of Salahaddin passing through this side during the recapturing of Jerusalem in 1187,” he continued.
Sources who spoke to The New Arab said that the move was clearly motivated to erase Islamic history and significance, as Sultan Suliman the Magnificent street leads to the gate, sending a message that any historical context will be removed. The sources also noted this comes as there has been a surge in Muslim tourists visiting from Turkey.
According to Abu Diab, the choice of the new name – Ancient Gate – has links to Talmudic Jewish narratives.
“These narratives claim there was a gate in this area that was once used to access what they refer to as the Temple. It passes through Silwan and heads towards the Al-Aqsa mosque, passing through what Talmudic narratives refer to as facilities associated to the Temple, such as the Silwan Spring.”
Members of Al-Aqsa’s board of trustees told The New Arab that the change in name was not merely a matter of linguistics but rather is a direct attempt to associate Israeli and Jewish narratives with the site, to allow Israelis to claim that the gate existed during the period described in those accounts, and that it was a path leading to what Israel refers to as the ‘temple’.
Israelis refer to Al-Aqsa as the Temple Mount, based on their belief that two ancient Jewish temples once stood there – the temple built by King Solomon, which was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans.
Israeli extremists have called for Jewish prayer at al-Aqsa, despite this violating a long-held agreement, and some call for the destruction of the mosque and the building of a Jewish temple.
Palestinians have also raised concerns that changing the names and changing signs to make them Hebrew reinforces the Israeli narrative among tourists visiting the city, further stripping it of its heritage.
Far-right Israeli ministers regularly storm al-Aqsa.
