Ekrima Sabri: Al-Aqsa Mosque is subjected to unprecedented violations...and the international failure is painful.

Sheikh Sabri said in a statement on Monday that "the extreme right has come to dominate the Israeli government and is proceeding with its plans against Al-Aqsa Mosque without any deterrent," adding that "the abandonment of Palestine has crossed all limits, given the lack of responses commensurate with the magnitude of the crimes being committed."

He explained that Al-Aqsa Mosque is witnessing daily incursions by settlers under heavy military protection, stressing that "these incursions do not grant the occupation or its settlers any legitimacy or right, as Al-Aqsa Mosque belongs to Muslims by divine decree that is not negotiable."

Sheikh Sabri emphasized that what is happening at Al-Aqsa Mosque is no longer a secret, and that "the occupation is pursuing a policy aimed at emptying the mosque of its worshippers by preventing Palestinians from entering it, while facilitating settler incursions and providing them with full protection."

He also warned of the occupation's attempts to "stifle any dissenting voice, oppress Jerusalemites, and impose systematic punitive measures against the people of Jerusalem, with the aim of breaking their will and discouraging them from defending Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri concluded his remarks by praising all free peoples who reject attacks on Islamic holy sites. He saluted the media professionals and journalists who convey the true picture of what is happening in Jerusalem, and called for a genuine international stance commensurate with the threats facing the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Hours earlier, extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, accompanied by officials and more than 1,400 Israeli settlers, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf.

The storming took place through the Mughrabi Gate in the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, coinciding with the anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 according to the Hebrew calendar.

Commenting on this, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "We condemn in the strongest terms the provocative incursion carried out by extremist Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir into the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque." It also denounced the raising of the Israeli flag in the Al-Aqsa courtyards and "the provocations carried out by extremist settlers during the so-called Flag March in Jerusalem."

In a video he filmed in the Al-Aqsa compound and posted on Twitter, Ben-Gvir said, "A large number of Jews are flocking here, and it's a joy to see." He added that he was accompanied on the raid by Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Knesset member from the Jewish Power party Yitzhak Kroizer.

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Department said in a statement that 1,427 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning in groups under Israeli police escort. It added that more settlers may storm the mosque in the afternoon.

Extremist right-wing Israeli groups called for widespread raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque, commemorating the occupation of East Jerusalem (according to the Hebrew calendar), and for the Israeli flag to be raised during the raids.

In parallel with the annihilation of Gaza, the Israeli occupation army and settlers escalated their attacks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of at least 969 Palestinians, the injury of approximately 7,000, and the arrest of more than 17,000 people, according to Palestinian data.

Since 2003, the Israeli occupation police have unilaterally allowed settlers to storm the mosque through the Mughrabi Gate in the mosque's western wall. These incursions increase significantly during Jewish holidays and special occasions.

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Department, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments, has been demanding an end to the incursions, but without any response from the Israeli authorities. Palestinians say that Israel is working intensively to Judaize occupied East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to erase its Arab and Islamic identity.

Tensions are rising amid an ongoing Israeli war of extermination in Gaza, which began on October 7. This has left more than 176,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.