Tensions in Jerusalem: Storming of Al-Aqsa and Attacks by Settlers Ahead of the 'Flag March'

SadaNews - The city of Jerusalem is witnessing today, Thursday, attacks carried out by settlers throughout the Old City, coinciding with Israeli preparations to organize the "Flag March" on the occasion of what is known as the "Anniversary of Jerusalem's Occupation" according to the Hebrew calendar.

The Jerusalem governorate stated that the occupation police are tightening restrictions on journalists and assaulting them inside the Old City of Jerusalem, just before the start of the so-called "Flag March" in the Old City.

This coincided with the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of settlers under tight protection from Israeli occupation forces, amidst wide-ranging restrictions imposed on Palestinians.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque while raising the Israeli flag and dancing before the cameras, before stating: "After 59 years since the liberation of Jerusalem, I raised the flag of Israel on the Temple Mount, and I can say that we have regained sovereignty over the Temple Mount," using the Israeli name for Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to his statement.

The Israeli police imposed strict measures around Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City, including preventing men under 60 and women under 50 from entering the mosque since dawn prayers, alongside identity checks and searches at the gates and assaults on several worshippers through pushing and beating.

In the Old City, markets and neighborhoods experienced assaults and provocations carried out by settlers under the protection of occupation forces, while the occupation authorities informed local traders of the necessity to close their shops on Thursday afternoon, coinciding with the start of the "Flag March," amidst a heavy police presence and the closure of several roads in East Jerusalem.

In the same context, the occupation police continue to impose strict restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers to Al-Aqsa Mosque, through thorough searches and identity checks at the outer gates, limiting access to the mosque during this period.

Worshippers, religious endowment employees, and students of the religious school were also forced to remain only inside closed prayer areas, preventing them from staying in the mosque's courtyards, leading to a reduction in the number of people present to about 150, compared to more than 200 settlers entering during the first hour of the storming.

The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem reported that 620 settlers and 78 Jewish students stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

The Waqf added that the storming was accompanied by rounds inside the courtyards of the mosque and the performance of Talmudic rituals, amidst strict measures imposed by the occupation forces on the entry of Palestinian worshippers.