Ben-Gvir Storms Al-Aqsa Compound With Settlers

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday. He was accompanied by settlers and rabbis under the protection of Israeli occupation forces during this provocative incursion.

The far-right politician performed Talmudic prayers and rituals in the eastern section of the mosque’s courtyards. This act directly violates the status quo arrangement in place since 1967, which prohibits non-Muslims from praying at the site.

Ben-Gvir declared plans to alter the historical status of Islam’s third-holiest site. He appeared to call for a Jewish temple to be located on the sacred ground, signaling his intent to change existing realities through gradual steps.

“When I was 14 years old, prayer was forbidden, and anyone who murmured was arrested,” Ben-Gvir said during the incursion. He added that seeing redemption today is moving and emphasized the need to blow the shofar.

The Jerusalem governorate condemned the incursion as a dangerous escalation. Officials described it as a flagrant violation of the mosque’s legal status and an attempt to impose new realities while altering its Islamic identity completely.

Israeli police have allowed settlers to make daily incursions into the compound since 2003, except on Fridays and Saturdays. This latest event occurs as tens of thousands of Jews participate in Yom Kippur prayers at the Western Wall.