Hamas warns of 'grave consequences' after extremist Jewish group publishes AI video of Al-Aqsa burning

The Palestinian Hamas group warned of "grave consequences" after an extremist Jewish organisation published an artificial intelligence (AI) generated video of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem burning to the ground, including the highly revered Al-Aqsa mosque.

On 12 September, the extremist Temple Mount Activists group shared an AI-generated video on their account on X depicting the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques up in flames.

Al-Aqsa is Islam’s third holiest site, and the Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine at the centre of the Al-Aqsa mosque complex.

The group posted the video twice, with one caption reading "absolute victory," while the other caption read "speedily in our days."

The video drew a fiery response from Hamas on Friday last week, which called the video a "dangerous escalation step," warning against any move by the Israeli government and settlers that could harm the holy sites and its "Arab-Islamic identity."

"The campaign is part of the Zionist plans aimed at Judaising Al-Aqsa, obliterating its features, and extending the dominance of fascist settlers over it," Hamas said in its statement.

The group, engaged in a nearly year-long war with the Israeli military in Gaza, called on Palestinians to be ready to "confront the Zionist plans against" Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It also called on Arab and Islamic countries, the Arab League, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to "fulfil their duties towards the dangers facing Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the comprehensive genocide facing the people of Gaza, and to work to deter the occupation and stop the aggression."

The occupied West Bank-based Palestinian foreign ministry also condemned the "incitement" and continued provocations by extremist Jewish Israeli settlers at the holy site.

The site, known to Jews as Temple Mount, a highly controversial term to Muslims, has long been one of the most divisive issues between Israelis and Palestinians, and overall, between Jews and Muslims.

While the Israeli government allows Jews to visit the Al-Aqsa complex, there has been a long-standing agreement between Israel and Jordan – the custodian of holy Christian and Islamic sites in Jerusalem – that bans Jewish rituals at the site and would have previously seen any lawbreakers arrested.

Israel said it would recognise the status quo and Muslim character of Al-Aqsa – which is a symbol of Palestinian national identity – when it seized East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordanian forces in 1967.

But some Israeli far-right activists claim Al-Aqsa is built on the site of an ancient Jewish temple and have worked hard to change the status of the complex, with regular raids and Jewish prayers at the site. These efforts have increased significantly since extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir became minister in 2022.