By Abdusalam Fayez and Lina Altawell
ISTANBUL (AA) — Scores of illegal Israeli settlers forced their way into Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday under police protection to mark the last day of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday, Palestinian media reported.
According to the official news agency Wafa, the settlers stormed the flashpoint site and performed “provocative” Talmudic rituals.
The Jerusalem Governorate said Sunday that 917 illegal settlers entered the mosque to celebrate the eight-day Hanukkah holiday, which started on Dec. 14, amid rising tensions in the occupied West Bank over repeated settler incursions.
Figures released by the governorate showed that 4,266 Israeli settlers and 15,220 foreign tourists entered the compound in November.
Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed illegal settlers to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound despite repeated objections from the Islamic Waqf, which administers the site.
Violations at the compound have increased since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir assumed office as Israel’s national security minister in late 2022, with Ben-Gvir and other ministers and members of the Knesset participating in such visits, Palestinian officials said.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.