The Palestinian news agency WAFA, quoting the Jerusalem Governorate, reported that settlers entered the mosque through the Mughrabi Gate and conducted tours inside its courtyards, which were described as provocative.
For its part, the Jerusalem-focused website “Al-Qastal” reported that settlers performed Talmudic rituals during the raid, amid a heavy deployment of Israeli police officers who tightened their military measures around the mosque and the Old City.
The source indicated that the police imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers, including identity checks, as part of ongoing measures to limit their access to the mosque.
Since 2003, the Israeli police have allowed settlers to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque daily during two periods, morning and afternoon, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays.
In contrast, the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem has repeatedly called for a halt to these incursions, without any response from the Israeli authorities.
The pace of violations at the mosque has escalated since Itamar Ben-Gvir took over as Israel’s Minister of National Security at the end of 2022, according to Palestinian sources.
Palestinians say Israel is intensifying its actions in occupied East Jerusalem, including at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as part of efforts to impose a new reality and obliterate the city's Arab and Islamic identity.
The Palestinians insist on East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international law resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its subsequent annexation.
