More than 1,300 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday morning during the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Jewish Temples, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
In a statement, the governorate said Israeli police increased the size of visiting groups to around 150 people at a time as the incursions took place.
It said Israeli forces imposed tight security restrictions at the entrances to the mosque and throughout Jerusalem’s Old City, deploying heavily inside the compound and limiting access for Palestinian worshippers.
According to the statement, only a small number of Palestinians were able to attend dawn prayers before Israeli forces allegedly assaulted several worshippers and residents.
The governorate said some of the visitors performed Talmudic rituals, including wearing tefillin, carrying out full prostrations in the eastern section of the compound and chanting during the visit.
It also claimed that groups advocating the construction of a Jewish temple at the site were seeking to bring as many as 5,000 settlers into the compound during the day’s events.
The governorate condemned the visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” and a violation of the site’s longstanding historical and legal status quo.
It said the minister’s participation reflected what it described as an official endorsement of actions previously associated with extremist groups and warned that such developments could have wider implications for regional security and stability.
The statement urged the international community to intervene and reiterated its position that the entire 144-dunam (35.6-acre) Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is an exclusively Islamic place of worship whose historical and legal status should not be altered.
Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi also entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during Thursday’s visits, according to the governorate.