Hundreds of Jewish Activists Enter Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, Palestinian Groups Call for Response
| JerusalemHundreds of Jewish activists entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Arab media reports. Approximately 480 people entered the compound on Sunday morning. Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf-linked mayoral office said Talmudic rituals were also performed inside the courtyard during the visits.Jerusalem sources reported that around 1,236 Jewish settlers entered the Al-Aqsa…
| Jerusalem
Hundreds of Jewish activists entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Arab media reports. Approximately 480 people entered the compound on Sunday morning. Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf-linked mayoral office said Talmudic rituals were also performed inside the courtyard during the visits.
Jerusalem sources reported that around 1,236 Jewish settlers entered the Al-Aqsa compound over the past week, during which prayers, Talmudic rites, and prostrations were performed under Israeli police protection. Palestinian officials say Israeli police, by contrast, maintain tight restrictions on Palestinian access to the site and have stepped up ID confiscations and expulsion orders at its gates ahead of upcoming Jewish holidays.
Jerusalem’s mayoral office has called on Palestinians to travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque, intensify their presence (“ribat”) at the site, and counter what it described as efforts by Jewish activists to alter the status quo.
Hamas official Majed Abu Qatish called on Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, the West Bank, and present-day Israel to travel to Al-Aqsa and increase their presence in its courtyards. According to the Palestinian Information Center, Abu Qatish said such incidents target the mosque’s Islamic identity and status, and called on Arab and Islamic countries to fulfill their responsibilities toward Al-Aqsa through political, public, and media action. There was no immediate official Israeli response to these characterizations.
