The Israeli magistrate’s court in Occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem) has given the Islamic Awqaf Council one week to respond to an Israeli request asking it to close the Bab al-Rahma prayer area of the Aqsa Mosque.

According to Haaretz newspaper, the magistrate’s court threatened to issue a verdict ordering the closure of Bab al-Rahma if the Awqaf Council did not respond to the request filed by Israeli prosecutors.

The newspaper warned that the use of force when closing Bab al-Rahma would lead to another round of violent tension in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the West Bank.

Bab al-Rahma of the Aqsa Mosque had been shut for 16 years by the Israeli police, but that closure order expired last August. Since its reopening by Muslim worshipers, the police have sought to re-shut this prayer area to please extremist Jewish groups, who want to Judaize the site.

After Bab al-Rahma was reopened, the Israeli police issued dozens of orders banning the entry of Aqsa guards and Awqaf officials to the Aqsa Mosque for different renewable periods.