Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa compound under Ben-Gvir's lead to mark 'Jerusalem Day'

Israeli settlers, accompanied by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday under heavy police protection.

The incursion coincided with Israel’s 'Jerusalem Day', which marks the anniversary of Israel’s 1967 illegal military occupation of East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. The event is commemorated annually according to the Hebrew calendar, which causes its date to shift each year between late May and early June.

Throughout the day, more than 900 settlers, including members of the Israeli Knesset, entered the compound via the Moroccan Gate.

Many performed religious rituals, waved Israeli flags, and some attempted to carry Torah scrolls into the site - actions that Palestinian authorities condemned as violations of the sanctity of the mosque and provocative attempts to alter the status quo.

Ben-Gvir took to the social media site X to openly celebrate his incursion into Al-Aqsa, saying:

"I ascended the Temple Mount for Jerusalem Day, and prayed for victory in the war, for the return of all our hostages, and for the success of the newly appointed head of the Shin Bet - Major General David Zini. Happy Jerusalem Day!"

Israeli police imposed sweeping restrictions on Palestinian residents of the Old City to pave the way for the incursions, erecting metal barricades at gates, including Damascus Gate and limiting access to Muslim worshippers.

These measures are part of the broader security clampdown typically enforced during Jerusalem Day events, which also include the highly controversial 'Flag March' through Palestinian areas of the Old City.

Under a longstanding arrangement, non-Muslims are permitted to visit the site but not to pray there. However, in recent years, Israeli settlers and far-right politicians have increasingly threatened this understanding.

Since 2023, settler incursions into the compound have surged dramatically. While the onset of Israel’s war on Gaza led to an even greater number of raids by Jewish settlers backed by the government, the trend had already been escalating beforehand.

This growing pressure on Palestinian sovereignty over the mosque compound was the reason Hamas named its 7 October operation ‘Al-Aqsa Flood'.

In 2024 alone, over 53,000 Israeli settlers illegally entered the site - a figure representing a staggering increase compared to previous years. These visits frequently involve efforts to perform forbidden Jewish prayers or rituals, and often coincide with religious or nationalist holidays.

Ben-Gvir has played a central role in this trend, making multiple high-profile visits and repeatedly calling for the formalisation of Jewish prayer rights at the site.

Ben-Gvir has links to the extremist Temple Movement in Israel that aims to build the so-called Third Temple over the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is known as the Temple Mount to Jews. 

Such actions have drawn international condemnation and raised fears of further escalation. Jordan, which holds custodial authority over Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, has denounced these incursions as clear violations of international law and the historic status quo.

Palestinians and broader Muslim communities view these moves as part of a deliberate strategy by Israel’s far-right government to assert full control over the compound and gradually normalise its partition or reconfiguration.