Israeli Ministers and MPs Storm Al-Aqsa as Lawmaker Calls for Mosque’s Demolition
Israeli ministers and members of parliament led mass incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, as one lawmaker publicly called for the site’s demolition and the construction of a Jewish temple in its place. The raids took place as Israeli forces barred Palestinian worshippers from the compound and allowed at least 800 Israelis to enter the site under heavy police escort, ahead of the annual Flag March through the Old City. middleeasteyemiddleeasteye
Since dawn prayers, Israeli authorities imposed strict measures at the gates of Al-Aqsa. Israeli forces searched worshippers attempting to reach the site, confiscated ID cards, and barred men under 60 and women under 50 from entering. Local sources told Middle East Eye that worshippers were shoved and beaten at several mosque gates. Shortly after dawn prayers ended, the compound was largely emptied of Palestinians, apart from a small number of Islamic Waqf staff. middleeasteye
The Raids
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led the incursions alongside other ministers and lawmakers, raising Israeli flags inside the mosque compound and performing religious rituals and prayers. middleeasteye
“We restored governance on the Temple Mount thanks to determination and deterrence,” Ben Gvir said. “The Temple Mount is in our hands.” middleeasteye
Yitzhak Kroizer, a member of parliament from the same party, stood alongside Ben Gvir as they danced and sang next to the Dome of the Rock. Kroizer later wrote on Facebook: “The time has come to get rid of all the mosques and work to construct the Temple!” middleeasteye
Yitzhak Wasserlauf, another minister present during the raid, said that “Jews no longer walk around the Temple Mount like thieves and no longer need to hide.” Ariel Kallner, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, also took part in the incursions. middleeasteye
An employee of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, which administers Al-Aqsa Mosque, told Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity: “Security barriers and restrictions are tighter than ever before.” middleeasteye
The Flag March and Jerusalem Day
The raids coincided with Israel’s annual Jerusalem Day, which marks the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 and its subsequent annexation. Jerusalem Day celebrations also include the Flag March, a procession through the Old City and its Palestinian-majority neighbourhoods that has repeatedly been marked by racist chants, assaults on Palestinian residents, and attacks on Palestinian property. middleeasteye
This year’s Jerusalem Day events run from sunset on Thursday through to nightfall on Friday — an overlap that falls on the same day as Nakba Day, which commemorates the displacement of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. middleeasteye
The Old City was placed under a near-total lockdown to accommodate the marches and incursions. Palestinian-owned shops were forced to shut, and residents were ordered indoors. middleeasteye
Push to Extend Raids Into Friday
Israeli incursions into Al-Aqsa are typically suspended on Fridays because of Muslim Friday prayers. However, several senior ministers and MPs from Israel’s governing coalition wrote to the police commissioner appealing for Israeli groups to be allowed into the mosque compound on Friday as well. middleeasteye
“It is unacceptable that on the day marking the liberation of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, Jews will be completely denied access to the holiest site for the Jewish people,” they wrote in a letter signed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Energy Minister Eli Cohen. middleeasteye
A Jerusalem resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Middle East Eye there were genuine fears the raids would proceed on Friday, further entrenching Israeli control over the site. middleeasteye
Rights Groups Sound Warning
Ir Amim, an Israeli rights group focused on Jerusalem, condemned what it described as growing official backing for the Temple movement — groups that organise daily incursions into Al-Aqsa and openly call for the mosque’s destruction and the construction of a Third Temple in its place. middleeasteye
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ir Amim warned: “Against the backdrop of the sweeping government support they now enjoy, Temple activists may in the coming days attempt to forcibly enter the complex, damage Muslim holy sites, or carry out attacks against Palestinians in and around the area.” middleeasteye
The group added: “When the police — who are meant to uphold public order — openly declare their support for the Temple movement, there is little left to restrain those groups from acting in such a manner.” middleeasteye
Background
Al-Aqsa Mosque sits on a plateau that Israelis refer to as the Temple Mount, which in Jewish tradition is believed to have been the site of the First and Second Temples. A centuries-old status quo, recognised internationally, designates Al-Aqsa as an exclusively Muslim place of worship under the administration of the Islamic Waqf, which holds authority over access, prayer, and maintenance. Israel has increasingly eroded that arrangement by allowing near-daily settler incursions and public Jewish prayers at the site, while sidelining the Waqf’s authority and heavily restricting Muslim access to the mosque. middleeasteyemiddleeasteye
What Happens Next
Jerusalem Day events continue through nightfall on Friday, when the Flag March is scheduled to pass through Palestinian-majority areas of the Old City. Senior ministers have formally requested that police permit further settler incursions into Al-Aqsa on Friday, despite the standard suspension of such access during Friday prayers. Ir Amim warned on Wednesday that Temple movement activists may attempt to enter the compound by force or damage Muslim holy sites during the coming days, given what the group described as open police support for the movement. middleeasteye + 2
