Israeli security minister joins Jewish extremists as they storm al-Aqsa mosque compound. More than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem in one of the largest incursions this year as they mark a Jewish holiday, Palestinian officials say.
Israelis prayed on Thursday in parts of the compound close to the al-Aqsa mosque and the seventh-century Dome of the Rock shrine, according to the latest reporting on the story.
Details
Israel’s far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, joined thousands of Jewish extremists who stormed Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Thursday.
and Hamas gave the name “al-Aqsa flood” to its attack on Israel in October 2023 that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the Gaza war claiming it was provoked by Israeli violations at the Jerusalem mosque.
The prayers outside al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock are a “dangerous provocation” by extremists seeking to ignite a religious war, the Israeli activist group Peace Now said in a post on X.
Ben-Gvir in front of the al-Aqsa mosque in the latest of his inflammatory visits to the compound.
Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said Israeli authorities had “taken extreme measures in the Old City” of Jerusalem, including barring entry to the Al-Aqsa compound for all but the elderly and tightening checkpoints such as those at Qalandiya and around East Jerusalem.
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Ben-Gvir has eroded the agreement in recent years through a series of inflammatory visits to the compound, and unilateral changes to rules for Jewish visitors, including allowing them to bring prayers and printed religious material to the site.
Separately, National Security Minister Ben-Gvir joins settlers and far-right groups at holy site under heavy police protection.
Statements
«we see enormous progress here,»
Context
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection on Thursday for Tisha B’Av.
Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi joined a group that raised Israeli flags and sang the national anthem, Haaretz reported, citing Israeli “Temple Mount” activists pushing for Jewish worship at the site.
Earlier this year, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, publicly backed Jewish prayer at the site, claiming changes pushed by Ben-Gvir were coordinated with him.
a Jewish day of mourning that marks the destruction twice of an ancient Jewish temple believed to have stood at the site known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several worshippers.
The Jerusalem governorate described Ben-Gvir’s entry as a dangerous escalation, saying it reflected official Israeli backing for actions previously associated with groups advocating for the reconstruction of a Jewish temple at the site.
Escorted by armed police, they prayed, waved the Israeli flag and sang the national anthem in a provocative display of political power, according to the latest reporting on the story.
Available information indicates that He has previously said he wanted to raise the Israeli flag at the compound and build a synagogue there.
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list 1 of 3Israel bans Jerusalem’s grand mufti from Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week, in a development tied to the same story.
Separately, Israeli settlers performed Talmudic rituals inside the compound, including prostrating themselves, singing and praying, the Jerusalem governorate said.
The Islamic Waqf Department, which officially manages the compound, said 3,228 Israelis entered the compound during the morning period, Al Jazeera reported.
list 2 of 3Israeli prosecutors charge six settlers after West Bank mosque attack, according to the latest reporting on the story.
Available information indicates that The Palestinian administration of the Jerusalem governorate said 4,288 Israelis had so far entered the compound.
