Extremist Ben Gvir Storms Al-Aqsa Mosque

SadaNews - Israeli National Security Minister, the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque this evening, Monday, from the direction of the Mughrabi Gate, under heavy guard from the Israeli occupation forces.

The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem reported that Ben Gvir roamed inside the mosque courtyards, having entered from the Mughrabi Gate to the Chain Gate and then returned by the same route, amid a heavy presence of occupation police forces.

It added that the occupation forces intensified their military measures around Al-Aqsa Mosque and closed the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, coinciding with the incursion.

This incursion comes amidst escalating calls from colonial groups to intensify incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, as part of a series of incursions carried out by the extremist Ben Gvir, who has stormed the mosque approximately 14 times since taking office in 2023, in line with an escalation policy towards the mosque.

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to close the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the 38th consecutive day, under the pretext of "state of emergency" and security conditions.

The occupation authorities exploit this pretext to strengthen their control over Al-Aqsa Mosque, at a time when there are rising popular and Jerusalemite calls to gather towards the nearest military points and barriers surrounding it, in an attempt to break the blockade imposed on it and to impose its reopening.

Waqf Condemns the Incursion

The Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs condemned the incursion by the so-called National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir into Al-Aqsa Mosque while it is closed for the 38th day, and it remains closed under the pretext of a state of emergency since the beginning of the war, in a move that poses a significant danger to the religious and spiritual sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the absence of Muslim worshippers. This raises fears about the objectives of this visit at this specific time.

The ministry confirmed that the actions of the far-right government, through the incursions of its ministers, are a blatant violation of a purely religious place for Muslims, which others have no right to enter without their permission, let alone what they often do in terms of practicing worship inside it, which is a heinous crime and an assault on Islamic sanctities and places of worship. Especially as these violations have taken an escalating turn under the extremist Israeli government.

The ministry called on Islamic and Arab institutions to fulfill their obligations to defend the first of the two qiblas and the third of the two holy mosques, making the issue of its closure a matter of international public opinion that lifts the closure and daily siege from it, and prevents worshippers and those in seclusion from reaching it and praying in it.
It also urged international institutions to take urgent and immediate action to defend the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is facing a fierce Israeli assault, and called on our people to stand firm and steadfast inside Al-Aqsa to thwart any aggression from this occupation.