Israel intensifies al-Aqsa incursions as over 11,400 settlers storm holy site

More than 11,400 Israeli settlers have stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East al-Quds during the Jewish holiday season, intensifying Israeli incursions and public religious and political activities at the Muslim holy site.

In a statement released on Friday, the al-Quds Governorate said 11,409 settlers entered the al-Aqsa compound between September 12 and October 1, with the number of incursions rising sharply during the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

According to the statement, 593 settlers entered the compound on September 13, after incursions had been halted the previous day. A further 1,678 settlers entered al-Aqsa on September 20 and 21 — 992 on September 20 and 686 on September 21.

The largest number of incursions was recorded during the first five days of Sukkot, from September 27 to October 1, when 9,138 settlers entered the mosque compound, the governorate said. It added that settler incursions continued on Friday, with further entries expected on Saturday.

The Palestinian authorities said the incursions were accompanied by increasingly overt religious rituals involving Israeli ministers, rabbis, officials and political figures, further highlighting the growing politicization of the holy site.

Those identified included Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin and Rabbi Yehuda Glick. According to the statement, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also took part in rituals at the al-Buraq Wall.

The al-Quds Governorate said the rituals inside the al-Aqsa compound included collective Jewish rituals, chanting, dancing, singing, clapping and the blowing of horns.

Settlers also carried Jewish religious books and other materials, while wearing distinctive clothing and shirts bearing images and slogans associated with the Temple movement, according to the statement.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, is one of the most sensitive religious sites in occupied East al-Quds and has long been a focal point of Israeli settler incursions and attempts to alter the status quo at the holy site.

Under the longstanding status quo governing the site, the compound is administered by the al-Quds Islamic Waqf, affiliated with Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf, and is designated for Muslim worship.

Since 2003, Israeli police have routinely allowed settlers to enter the compound through the Mughrabi Gate under police protection, despite repeated Palestinian and Jordanian calls for an end to the incursions.

US bill backs ‘dangerous’ Israeli control of al-Aqsa Mosque

The proposal by Israeli-allied lawmakers also reaffirms US recognition of occupied al-Quds as Israel’s undivided capital.

Israeli raids and settler incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound have intensified during the Jewish holiday season.

Palestinian officials and Jordan have repeatedly warned that expanded settler incursions and Jewish rituals inside the compound undermine the longstanding arrangements governing the holy site and further escalate tensions in occupied al-Quds.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has also warned that escalating incursions by Israeli regime officials and settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound will not succeed in changing the Islamic identity of occupied al-Quds.

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