In a highly provocative act that threatens to ignite regional tensions, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led over 3,000 settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, marking the anniversary of the “destruction of the Temple” in a display of force that Palestinian authorities have condemned as a dangerous escalation.
The Islamic Endowments Department in occupied East Jerusalem reported that 3,228 settlers stormed the sacred compound during the morning hours, with participants chanting the Israeli national anthem before the Dome of the Rock and raising occupation flags throughout the courtyards. Among the incursions was a delegation including Likud Knesset member Amit Halevi, who was witnessed raising the Israeli flag within the mosque’s precincts, and fellow Knesset member Nissim Vaturi.
VIDEO | Large numbers of Jewish settlers have gathered outside Bab al-Maghariba (The Moroccan Gate) ahead of a planned evening incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque. pic.twitter.com/Z8jXA3oh8X
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The incursion, conducted under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces, saw strict military measures imposed around Jerusalem’s Old City and the mosque’s gates. Witnesses reported that Israeli forces prevented large numbers of Palestinian worshippers from reaching the compound, with only a limited number permitted to perform the dawn prayer before security personnel assaulted several worshippers.
‘Blatant Violation’ of Holy Sites
The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Jerusalem issued a strong condemnation of the raid, describing it as “a blatant violation of the sanctity of Islamic holy sites and a serious assault on the existing historical and legal status” of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In an official statement, the Ministry charged that exploiting Jewish occasions to intensify incursions and perform Talmudic rituals within the compound forms part of “the occupation’s systematic scheme to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque” through temporal restrictions, spatial allocation, and administrative takeover.
“The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its total area of 144 dunams, is the exclusive right of Muslims alone and cannot be divided or shared,” the Ministry declared. “These provocative practices, carried out at the highest political levels within the occupation government, seek to ignite a religious war across the entire region.”
The Ministry urgently called upon the international community and United Nations institutions to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, urging them to exert serious pressure on occupation authorities to halt systematic violations against Jerusalem and its holy sites. It further appealed to Arab and Islamic nations to adopt decisive positions supporting Palestinian steadfastness.
‘Dangerous Shift’ Toward Official Adoption of Extremist Practices
The Jerusalem Governorate characterized Ben-Gvir’s participation as “a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of the historical and legal status quo,” warning that it represents a fundamental shift from extremist group attacks to official government adoption of provocative practices.
According to the Governorate, occupation forces deployed extensive personnel inside and surrounding the mosque, significantly reducing the presence of worshippers and guards within the courtyards. Meanwhile, settlers continued their incursions, performing what they term “epic prostration” in the eastern area of the mosque, wearing tefillin prayer straps, and chanting hymns loudly as “Temple groups” sought to expand the number of intruders to approximately 5,000 throughout the day.
“Ben-Gvir’s participation in the incursions, along with the escalation by Temple groups and settlers, represents a dangerous shift from attacks by extremist groups to the official adoption of these practices by the occupation government,” the Governorate warned, cautioning that continued violations threaten security and stability across the region.
Hamas Warns of Response
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the storming, describing the incursions as “a dangerous escalation and blatant aggression aimed at Judaizing Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of the enemy’s project to consolidate its complete control over it.”
Hamas warned against settlers exploiting Jewish occasions to expand their presence and carry out rituals inside the mosque’s courtyards, while affirming that “our people and our resistance will not stand idly by in the face of the desecration of holy sites.”
The developments come amid heightened tensions in occupied East Jerusalem, with Palestinian authorities maintaining that Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its full 144-dunam area, remains an exclusively Islamic place of worship, and that any measures attempting to alter its identity or historical and legal status are “null and illegitimate.”
Source: Agencies (translated and edited by Al-Manar)