Local sources reported that a number of Palestinian worshippers suffered from suffocation, and six children were arrested during a raid by settlers and Israeli occupation forces on the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah. The sources indicated that settlers in military uniforms fired gas bombs near the village mosque, before the forces stormed the area and carried out arrests after the prayer.
In East Jerusalem, guards at the Al-Aqsa Mosque thwarted an attempt by settlers to storm the mosque and slaughter sacrifices inside, after they managed to close one of the doors at the last minute.
A video circulating on social media shows settlers on their way to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, jumping over an Israeli police barrier on the road leading to Bab Hutta, one of the mosque's gates. The video shows mosque guards rushing to close Bab Hutta, thwarting the attempt to storm the mosque.
The Palestinian human rights organization, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, stated that the settlers "were carrying a live animal sacrifice, attempting to bring it into the mosque compound." The statement added that "the sacrifice is an animal offering that extremist Temple Mount groups seek to bring into and slaughter at Al-Aqsa Mosque."
Israeli police have allowed settlers to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque since 2003 on a daily basis, except for Fridays and Saturdays of each week.
The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem has repeatedly demanded a halt to the incursions, but without any response from the Israeli authorities.
Palestinians say that for decades Israel has been intensifying its crimes to Judaize East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity.
Meanwhile, Hebrew reports indicate that the Israeli government is considering a proposal to allocate approximately one million dollars for the development of the "Beduel" settlement in the northern West Bank, as part of a project aimed at developing a tourist site within the settlement, amidst the continued expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Hebrew newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported on Friday that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar intends to submit a proposal to the government, stipulating the investment of $1 million (3 million shekels) to develop the settlement of Bedu'el from the Foreign Ministry's budget.
The newspaper quoted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying that "the investment will be made through a transfer from the budget to the Ministry of Tourism, and in coordination between the two ministries."
The settlement of "Beduel" is built on the lands of the towns of Kafr al-Dik and Deir Ballut, west of the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank.
Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank has seen a significant surge since the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, according to data from the Israeli left-wing Peace Now movement.
The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank is estimated at about 750,000, including about 250,000 in East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian estimates, in settlements that the United Nations considers illegal.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem have witnessed a continuous escalation since October 2023, including raids, arrests and attacks by settlers, which have resulted in the martyrdom of more than a thousand Palestinians, the injury of thousands of others and the arrest of tens of thousands, according to Palestinian data, in addition to settlement expansion that the United Nations considers illegal.
