Israeli settlers raid al-Aqsa compound under police protection

Hundreds of Israeli settlers raided the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem on Monday morning in the latest provocation amid ongoing settler incursions into the holy site. 

Groups of Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa from the Moroccan Gate, located in the Western Wall of Haram al-Sharif, under the protection and escort of heavily armed Israeli police forces, the New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site al-Araby al-Jadeed reported.

According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, dozens of settlers were also reported to have performed Talmudic rituals and provocative dances at multiple gates leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

These included Bab al-Asbat (Lions’ Gate), Bab al-Hutta, and King Faisal Gate, as part of the Jewish holiday of “Feast of Weeks”.

A day earlier, the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem issued a statement warning that dozens of extremist Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound early Sunday morning through the Moroccan Gate.  

The incursion took place once again under heavy protection from Israeli police forces. 

According to the Waqf, the settler raid constitutes a violation of the mosque’s sanctity and a provocation to Muslim worshippers, amid growing fears over Israeli policies and settler group agendas.  

The Islamic Waqf further warned that Al-Aqsa Mosque is witnessing an alarming surge in violations by Israeli settlers and police forces. 

These include an increase in settler incursions, the entry of larger settler groups, and the growing frequency of Talmudic prayers being performed within the mosque compound – all under the protection of Israeli security forces. 

According to Palestinian media, Sunday’s raid alone saw at least 699 settlers storm the site.  

Wafa reported that since the outbreak of Israel’s devastating war on Gaza on 7 October 2023, more than 68,000 settlers have entered Al-Aqsa Mosque under police escort, amid increasingly tight restrictions on Palestinian access to the mosque and the surrounding Old City of Jerusalem. 

However, even before the war, 2023 had already seen a massive rise in the amount of Israeli settler violence and government-sanctioned attacks on Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Aqsa. These actions by Israel led Hamas to name their operation against Israel on 7 October “Al-Aqsa Flood”. 

The latest incursions follow a wave of heightened incitement against Palestinians last week.

Ultranationalist Israelis stormed both the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and a UN facility for Palestinian refugees during Jerusalem Day, an annual event that marks Israel’s occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem following the 1967 war. 

According to various news outlets, right-wing Israeli marchers were heard chanting slogans such as “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn” as they paraded through the narrow alleyways of the Old City, including the Muslim Quarter, in what many described as a display of racial hatred and religious provocation. 

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, also joined over 2,000 Israelis in storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its surrounding areas.