Omar Al-Rajoub, director of the Media Unit in the Jerusalem Governorate, said Wednesday that the governorate recorded the martyrdom of two members of the same family, who were shot by Israeli occupation police during August.
اضافة اعلان
Al-Rajoub said that approximately 5,200 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and entered its courtyards, while another 3,117 entered under the designation of “tourism.” He said the Israeli occupation supports the settlers in imposing a new reality that disregards the historical and religious status of Al-Aqsa Mosque and strengthens the role of occupation police.
He added: “The figures, and the reading and analysis of these figures, indicate the continuation of the Israeli occupation’s policy of Judaizing the holy city and imposing a replacement reality.”
He explained that Israeli occupation police promoted an announcement last month targeting groups affiliated with the so-called Temple movement, inviting them to join what is referred to as the “Police” or “Temple Unit” within the occupation police, which is responsible for incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He noted that most settler attacks in Jerusalem are concentrated around Al-Aqsa Mosque, while attacks in the outskirts of the city are focused on the Jerusalem wilderness. He said attacks in the Jerusalem wilderness are increasing rapidly in an effort to pressure Palestinians and force them to evacuate their communities, paving the way for infrastructure connecting settlements or the establishment of new settlements.
He said three Jerusalem residents have been martyred this year as a result of settler attacks in the Jerusalem Governorate.
The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs had documented, in its monthly report, an escalation by Israeli occupation authorities and settlers against Islamic holy sites during August. It recorded 26 incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prevention of the call to prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque 155 times.
The ministry said settler incursions into Al-Aqsa continued through the Moroccan Gate during both morning and evening periods under heavy protection from occupation police. The incursions included Talmudic and provocative rituals, including what is known as “epic prostration,” public group prayers, and the use of books and fabric prayer mats in the mosque’s courtyards and in front of the Dome of the Rock.
It added that, in an escalatory move, occupation police recruited personnel for a special security unit assigned to Al-Aqsa Mosque, coinciding with calls by rabbis to join the unit. Meanwhile, Temple groups continued to incite increased incursions, with Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman calling for settlers to be allowed to storm the mosque and publicly blow the shofar inside it. This coincided with far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir performing rituals at the Western Wall.
In Jerusalem, the ministry said occupation authorities continued to impose strict restrictions on worshippers, particularly on Fridays. The measures included incursions into the vicinity of the Qibli prayer hall and the Dome of the Rock while sermons and prayers were being held, as well as renewing a decision to bar the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, from Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months.
