Dozens enter compound under police protection as restrictions tighten in East Jerusalem
Palestinians gather near the Dome of the Rock on the fourth Friday of the holy month of Ramadan on Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 14, 2023. REUTERS
Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under heavy police protection on Wednesday as tensions continue to simmer across the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities said.
The Jerusalem Governorate said the settlers moved through the compound’s courtyards and carried out provocative religious rituals, including what is referred to as “epic prostration”, near Bab al-Rahma gate and the Dome of the Rock inside the complex.
Groups affiliated with the so-called Temple movement circulated calls encouraging more settlers to storm the flashpoint site and raise Israeli flags inside its courtyards, the governorate added in a statement carried by the official news agency Wafa.
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The incursion came as Israeli police continued to tighten restrictions across East Jerusalem by setting up checkpoints, closing roads and limiting access for worshippers to the mosque.
Since early April, the pace of such incursions has increased, with Israeli settlers performing public rituals inside the compound.
Last week, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the compound and performed Talmudic rituals alongside settlers, marking his third such incursion this year and the 16th since taking office in late 2022.
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Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews refer to the area as Temple Mount, believing it to be the site of two ancient Jewish temples.
Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed settlers to enter the mosque compound daily during two periods — morning and afternoon — except on Fridays and Saturdays.
Palestinians say Israel is intensifying efforts to alter the status of East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.
Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognise Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1980.
