Israel’s Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, performing prayers and appearing to call for a Jewish temple to be located on the site.

With the protection of Israeli occupation forces, Ben-Gvir entered the compound on Monday, accompanied by several rabbis, settlers and security personnel, and declared plans to alter the historical status quo of Islam’s third-holiest site. The far-right politician has performed such provocative antics several times.

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Ben-Gvir performed Talmudic prayers and rituals in the eastern section of the mosque’s courtyards, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

As part of the status quo arrangement in place since 1967, performing prayers is not allowed for non-Muslims, although Jewish people are permitted to visit the compound.

“When I was 14 years old, prayer was forbidden, and anyone who murmured was arrested. Today we see redemption. It is very moving to be with you today, and you are right, we must blow the shofar and bring the prayer incantations, and there must be a temple… a temple… a temple… but little by little”, Ben-Gvir said during the incursion, according to Al Jazeera Arabic’s Elias Karram.

“I am very moved… and you say that we must bring the prayer incantations and blow the shofar [ram’s horn],” the national security minister remarked.

The leader of the far-right Jewish Power party, has stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound several times since taking office in 2022, drawing widespread condemnation.

A regular advocate of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the territories occupied by Israel, Ben-Gvir is part of a growing settler movement that wants to take over the compound and build a Jewish synagogue in place of the Muslim holy site.

This latest incursion comes as tens of thousands of Jews have participated in recent days in Yom Kippur prayers, which last for a full month at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, preceding Jewish holidays in September.

The Jerusalem governorate condemned the incursion, describing it as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the mosque’s existing historical and legal status, as well as an attempt to impose new realities at the site and alter its Islamic identity, according to Wafa.

Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed settlers to make daily incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, except on Fridays and Saturdays.

Israel often imposes restrictions on Palestinian worshippers. They prevented Eid al-Fitr prayers at Al-Aqsa this year, allowing only 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, home to 3.3 million people, into one of Islam’s holiest sites for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.

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