Hundreds of Israelis led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under police protection on Monday, the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in occupied East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem governorate reported that Israeli forces closed intersections and streets surrounding the Old City that lead to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount.
According to the governorate, 900 people entered the compound in the morning, with Israelis dancing in circles and singing inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. "We are the owners of the place in Al-Aqsa and in the prisons, and we have turned the lives of terrorist prisoners into hell," Ben-Gvir said. "The people of Israel are on the path to absolute victory, and today we pray in Al-Aqsa, which is the most important place for the Jewish people."
Monday's intrusion came as Israeli authorities forced dozens of Palestinian shopkeepers to close their businesses and residents to remain inside their homes in areas near the mosque to allow Jewish prayers during Sukkot. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement that dozens of Palestinian owners of shops, cafes and restaurants in the Cotton Merchants Market in Jerusalem's Old City were forced to close them during the Jewish holiday to make way for Jewish prayers in the market.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh described the incursion as "playing with fire and a dangerous provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world." He also warned that Israel was seeking to ignite a "religious war" in the region. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation from Palestinian officials and international observers.
Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed groups of Israelis to make daily incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, except on Fridays and Saturdays. Israel often imposes restrictions on Palestinian worshippers. It 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. The repeated violations have heightened tensions in the region and raised fears of further escalation.
Source: www.aljazeera.com