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Trump's Plan for Al-Aqsa Mosque
By R.G. Uxton | June 1, 2026
Of the many outrages that have defined American foreign policy toward the Middle East, few have been as deliberate and as fraught as the reported Trump administration plan to dismantle the Islamic Waqf at the Al‑Aqsa Mosque compound. According to a joint investigation by Middle East Eye, citing American, Jordanian, Palestinian, Gulf, and Western sources, the United States and Israel are "actively working" on a new arrangement to terminate the century‑old Hashemite custodianship of the third‑holiest site in Islam. The reported scheme would replace the Waqf—the Jordanian‑run Islamic trust that has administered the Haram al‑Sharif since the early twentieth century—with an Israeli‑appointed body tasked with redefining the sacred enclosure as a "multi‑faith centre." Under the plan, Jews would receive "equal access" to the compound and would be formally permitted to conduct large‑group prayers on the esplanade; Israel would gain decisive influence over the appointment of imams, mosque administrators, and even the content of Friday sermons.