Evidence

Multiple independent outlets corroborate that Hamas political bureau member Khaled Meshaal made this statement. Middle East Eye (27 September 2026) reports that Meshaal said Israeli measures around Al-Aqsa — including a reported 40-day closure, the imposition of 'temporal division' to allow incursions by extremist Jewish groups, and efforts at 'spatial division' by emptying facilities in the courtyard — are 'paving the way for total control and domination' over the site. The Iranian outlet IQNA, citing Al Jazeera, and the site pressbee.net report the same statement with matching specifics (40-day closure, temporal division, spatial division, plus a mention of four counter-strategies Meshaal announced). The New Arab and Palestine Chronicle separately report on Israeli restrictions, closures, and what Palestinian officials and researchers describe as a 'temporal division' of Al-Aqsa (fixed hours for settler incursions) occurring amid the Gaza war context, which aligns with the factual backdrop Meshaal is referencing. No fact-checking organization (Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, Bellingcat, or EUvsDisinfo) appears to have published a specific review of this Meshaal statement or evaluated whether Israel's actions genuinely constitute a deliberate plan for 'total control' — that broader characterization is a political/analytical judgment made by Hamas and echoed by some Palestinian analysts, not an independently adjudicated fact.