Hamas condemned “the performance of Talmudic rituals by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and war criminal Netanyahu, at the Buraq Wall,” calling it “a blatant assault on the sanctity” of Al-Aqsa Mosque and “a flagrant violation of the historical and legal status quo in the occupied city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem).”

The movement said Sunday the act “is a direct provocation to the feelings of Arabs and Muslims,” reaffirming its view of U.S. “bias and full complicity,” and asserted the Buraq Wall “will remain purely Islamic.”

Rubio’s visit to occupied Jerusalem sparked outrage after he joined Netanyahu at the Al-Buraq Wall and inaugurated a 600-meter settlement tunnel running beneath the Old City toward the Wall’s foundations.

Netanyahu praised the stop as proof of an “unbreakable U.S.-Israel alliance,” lauding Rubio as an “extraordinary friend.”

Analysts framed the optics—an American official in a yarmulke at an occupied Muslim holy site—as a political message timed to undercut Arab and Muslim deliberations in Doha over Gaza and Al-Aqsa.

Regional observers also said Rubio’s visit was a calculated political move aimed at reinforcing Israel’s project to Judaize occupied Al-Quds. They viewed the Wall ceremony and tunnel inauguration as part of a broader colonial strategy to assert control over the Al-Aqsa compound and erase its Islamic identity.

The timing, coinciding with high-level Arab and Muslim discussions in Doha, was seen as a deliberate signal of unwavering U.S. alignment with Israel, even in the wake of actions that have drawn widespread condemnation.

Observers also noted that such symbolic acts have become a routine gesture for visiting U.S. officials, reflecting the entrenched influence of pro-Israel policy within Washington.

At a joint press conference, Rubio described Palestinians who participated in the October 7, 2023, operation as “barbaric animals,” insisted “this is where this all began,” reaffirmed “unwavering” U.S. support, and argued that recognizing Palestine “emboldens [Hamas].”