Shin Bet: Settler raids on al-Aqsa causing ‘indescribable damage’ to Israel

The head of Israel’s internal spy agency, known as Shin Bet, has rebuked violent incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and settlers as an issue that causes “indescribable damage” to the occupying entity.

Ronen Bar made the comment in a letter on Friday to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, expressing deep concern that the storming of the holy site, which was conducted by the radical Jewish settler gangs of Hilltop Youths, is backed by the Israeli regime and the group has “long ago become a hotbed of violence against Palestinians.”

Bar stressed that the settlers are emboldened by lenient treatment and “a secret sense of backing” from the police under the leadership of Ben-Gvir.

“The loss of fear of administrative detention due to the conditions they get in prison and the money given to them upon their release, together with legitimization and praise, alongside delegitimization of security forces, contributes to the phenomenon’s continuation,” the head of Israel’s internal spy agency said.

He emphasized that the solution does not lie with the Shin Bet but rather requires action from the occupying regime’s leaders.

“The damage to…Israel, especially now and to the vast majority of the settlers, is indescribable…, spreading thin the IDF’s personnel which is already struggling to keep up with all its missions and which wasn’t intended to deal with this; vengeful attacks that are sparking another front in the multi-front war we are in; putting more players into the cycle of terror.”

More than 1,600 Israeli settlers, who were organized into 13 groups and joined by Ben-Gvir, intruded into al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy occupied city of al-Quds on August 13.

Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers, led by notorious minister Ben Gvir, storm al-Aqsa mosque

Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The settlers entered the mosque through the western al-Mugharbah Gate, a route frequently used during such incursions, and raised the regime’s flag within the al-Salsila entrance at al-Aqsa Mosque.

Ben-Gvir, who is in charge of Israeli police, has consistently asserted that he believes Jews should be allowed to pray at the holy mosque, contrary to the law governing al-Aqsa Mosque.

Just last month, he led a similar incursion into the sacred mosque, heavily guarded by police and military personnel, marking the third such incident in under a year.

Under an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of the regime’s occupation of al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the holy compound is prohibited. But the ban is a mere phrase and, in action, circumstances have been against Muslims.

Ben-Gvir’s intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound takes place as the regime keeps its bloody war machine running in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has killed more than 40,200 Palestinians in Gaza since early October. Over 93,000 Palestinians are also injured.

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