Around 1,300 “Israeli” Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound During Jewish Holiday

By Staff, Agencies

Around 1,300 “Israeli” settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday morning during the Jewish holiday of “Tisha B’Av”, according to the Al-Quds [“Jerusalem”] Governorate.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the governorate said “Israeli” police increased the number of settlers allowed into the compound in each group to around 150. It also said security forces imposed strict restrictions at the mosque’s gates and throughout Al-Quds’ Old City, deploying heavily across the site and preventing many Palestinian worshippers from entering.

According to the governorate, only a small number of Palestinians were able to reach the mosque for dawn prayers before “Israeli” forces assaulted several worshippers and local residents.

The statement further said that settlers performed Talmudic rituals during the visits, including wearing tefillin, carrying out full prostrations in the eastern section of the compound and chanting loudly.

The Al-Quds Governorate also said that groups advocating the construction of a Jewish temple at the site had mobilized supporters in an effort to bring as many as 5,000 settlers into the compound during Thursday’s visits.

The governorate condemned the visit by “Israeli” “National Security” Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” and a “flagrant violation” of the site’s historical and legal status quo.

It said Ben-Gvir’s participation formed part of what it described as the “systematic targeting of Islamic holy sites” and attempts to alter the existing arrangements governing Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to the governorate, the minister’s presence, alongside settler groups and organizations advocating the construction of a Jewish temple at the site, marked a shift from actions by extremist groups to what it characterized as official government backing.

The governorate warned that such actions could have wider consequences for regional security and stability and called on the international community and international institutions to intervene.

It reiterated that the entire 144-dunam [35.6-acre] Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is an exclusively Islamic place of worship and said any measures intended to change its identity or historical and legal status are “invalid and illegitimate.”

Likud Party lawmaker Amit Halevi also entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday morning.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount and regard it as the location of two ancient Jewish temples.

“Israel” occupied East Al-Quds [“Jerusalem”], where the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-“Israeli” War and annexed the area in 1980, a move that has not been recognized by the international community.