Israeli settlers entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday under heavy protection from Israeli security forces, coinciding with the commemoration of the so-called “Temple Destruction” anniversary.
According to the report, the settlers conducted what were described as provocative tours inside the compound and performed Talmudic rituals, while Israeli authorities imposed strict restrictions on Palestinian worshippers seeking to enter the mosque.
The measures came as extremist groups advocating for the construction of a Jewish temple called for intensified incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound during the occasion.
Earlier, the Jerusalem Governorate warned of what it described as escalating plans by extremist “Temple” organizations to organize the largest mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the annual commemoration.
In a statement, the governorate said the activities were no longer merely initiatives by extremist groups but had become part of an official Israeli policy aimed at imposing new realities inside the mosque compound and undermining its existing historical and legal status, paving the way for what it described as the gradual implementation of a temporal and spatial division of the site.
The statement added that recent political and field developments indicate a broad mobilization campaign led by these organizations to set a new record for the number of settlers entering the compound. The groups reportedly seek to surpass last year’s figure of 4,000 visitors in a single day, with a publicly declared goal of reaching 5,000, a target they have pursued incrementally since 2021.
The Jerusalem Governorate reiterated that Al-Aqsa Mosque, encompassing its entire 144-dunum area, is an exclusively Islamic holy site, and said that all Israeli measures aimed at altering its identity, character, or historical and legal status are null and void.
