Over 2130 settlers storm Al-Aqsa and cut hundreds of olive trees near Ramallah

SadaNews - More than 2130 settlers stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the past week, under heavy protection from the Israeli occupation police, in a noticeable escalation of incursions and attempts to impose a new reality inside the holy sanctuary.

This comes amid continued assaults by settlers on Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank, where a group cut down about 400 olive trees in the Teramsaya plain north of Ramallah.

Sources from Jerusalem reported that the number of settlers who stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque exceeded 2130 during the past week, including those who entered under the cover of tourism, carrying out provocative tours and performing Talmudic rituals inside the grounds.

These incursions took place under stringent protection from the occupation police, coinciding with security facilitation that included extending the hours of incursions in the morning and evening periods, contributing to an increase in the number of intruders and the expansion of their presence inside the holy sanctuary.

Since the mosque reopened after a closure period during the war on Iran, its courtyards have witnessed a significant increase in the number of settlers and an expansion in the times of incursions, in what is seen as attempts to impose a new reality inside the mosque.

Field data indicates that these developments come within a policy aimed at entrenching temporal and spatial division by allocating times and spaces for non-Muslims inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, which alters the historical and legal status quo.

In contrast, calls from Jerusalem are increasing to gather and maintain presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque to confront repeated incursions and address attempts to impose control over it.

Reports from human rights organizations have shown a continuous rise in the number of intruders in recent years, with the mosque witnessing widespread incursions involving thousands of settlers and security personnel, in addition to increases in the number of those entering under the title of tourism, amid ongoing Israeli policies aimed at enhancing their presence inside the mosque.

Escalation of incursions into Al-Aqsa

The Jerusalem International Foundation had issued a paper monitoring the assaults of the occupation related to this occasion during the years between 2014 and 2025.

The paper revealed a sharp and systematic rise in the number of intruders, as statistics recorded the storming of 3108 settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque throughout the monitoring period.

Data showed that the last four years between 2022 and 2025 accounted for about 74% of the total number of intruders.

Since the beginning of 2026, over 28,000 settlers, along with hundreds of occupation soldiers and so-called tourists, have stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The paper emphasized that the Israeli occupation employs these "national" occasions to usurp the complete Islamic sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque and turn it into an open space to implement Judaization plans as a de facto situation.

Since the beginning of April, Palestinian official and rights sources have documented a significant escalation in incursions, coinciding with the same occasion, which included performing "epic prostrations" and public Talmudic prayers inside the mosque courtyards.

On April 12, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque for the third time since the beginning of the year, performing public prayers accompanied by settlers, chanting provocative songs.

The beginning of April saw the opening of a new incursion route in coordination with the Israeli police, allowing direct access to the vicinity of the Dome of the Rock from the west and north sides.

According to reports, the number of intruders since the beginning of April until the twentieth of the month exceeded 2000 settlers, while the total number of intruders from January to the end of March 2026 reached about 9373 settlers, in addition to 16505 others entering under the cover of "tourism".

Settlers cut hundreds of olive trees northeast of Ramallah

Settlers cut down hundreds of olive trees last night in the lands of the town of Teramsaya northeast of Ramallah, in the central West Bank.

Local sources reported that settlers from the “Adi Ad” settlement built on the land of the town cut down about 400 olive trees in the town's plain, in a new attack on agricultural lands.

This follows days after settlers burned a house and a vehicle in the same town, in a continued escalation of assaults against the residents and their properties.

In a related context, the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission reported that occupation forces and settlers carried out 1819 assaults during March, including 1322 assaults carried out by the occupation army and 497 assaults carried out by settlers.

The commission explained that these assaults concentrated in the provinces of Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, and Jerusalem, as part of what it described as a continuous methodical targeting policy of Palestinian areas.