Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque amid restrictions on Muslims to perform Talmudic rituals

Dozens of illegal and extremist Israeli settlers have intruded into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, under the protection of Israeli forces, in yet another provocative move against Palestinian worshipers. 

According to the Palestinian Information Center news website, the Israeli settlers, escorted by military forces, broke into the compound on Thursday morning through the Mughrabi Gate, and provocatively performed rituals and Talmudic prayers in the mosque’s courtyards.

In a serious violation, a settler placed Tefillin prayer boxes on his head and prayed inside the al-Aqsa Mosque itself under the guard of Israeli forces.

Israeli forces tightened their military presence around the Old City of al-Quds and at the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque, obstructing the entry of Palestinian worshipers.

Hardline Israeli officials and settlers regularly storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city, a provocative move that infuriates Palestinians. Such mass settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in al-Quds.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Far-right Israeli minister Ben-Gvir again storms al-Aqsa Mosque

Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir makes another intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds.

The latest intrusion by Israeli settlers comes as the occupying regime keeps its bloody war machine going in the Gaza Strip, which left at least 45,581 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, since October 7, 2023.

Prayer at Ibrahimi Mosque banned 48 times in December

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs revealed that Israeli forces prevented the Islamic call to prayer, also known as the adhan, from being raised at the Ibrahimi Mosque 48 times in December.

Israeli troops also raided al-Aqsa Mosque 22 times in that period, it added.

The ministry noted in its monthly report that Israeli forces and extremist Jewish settlers escalated their attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque, highlighting that notorious far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the mosque on the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah while heavily guarded by Israeli occupation forces.

This was the seventh time he had raided the holy Muslim site since he assumed office in December 2022.

The ministry warned that such assaults aim to “consecrate the presence of settlers and impose a new reality, by performing Talmudic rituals such as collective prostration, blowing the trumpet, and bringing in plant offerings, at a specific time and place.”

Regarding the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil, the ministry documented that “the occupation forces prevented the call to prayer 48 times, stormed it, climbed onto its roof and took some measurements, which constitutes a blatant violation of the sanctity of sacred Muslim sites and an encroachment on Waqf property.”

It also documented that Israeli authorities carried out excavations and extended a sewage line in the courtyards of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and assaulted the mosque’s director, Sheikh Moataz Abu Sneineh, at the military gates and prevented him from receiving medical treatment.

Occupation forces also attempted to disrupt a Quran recitation event.

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