The so-called “National Security Minister” in the Israeli occupation government, the Zionist criminal Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
According to the Palestinian news agency “Sanad,” Jerusalem sources reported that Ben-Gvir, accompanied by the Israeli occupation police chief and several senior officers, entered the mosque compound, where they held a meeting inside its courtyards to assess the situation and discuss restrictions imposed on worshippers.
A video clip showed Ben-Gvir entering through the Maghariba Gate area alongside Israeli Police Commissioner Dani Levy and Al-Quds District Police Commander Avshalom Peled. Ben-Gvir reportedly made inflammatory statements against Palestinians in front of Israeli police officers and personnel, according to the Palestinian news agency “Wafa.”
The Maghariba Gate is one of the main gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, located along its western wall toward the south. It is among the closest gates to Al-Qibli Mosque and Al-Marwani Prayer Hall and is adjacent to Al-Buraq Wall. The gate has been under Israeli control since 1967 and is used by settlers and occupation forces to access the mosque’s courtyards.
Al-Quds Governorate stated that Ben-Gvir’s storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and his statements come amid an escalation of Israeli military measures and restrictions imposed on worshippers in occupied Al-Quds.
Despite strict Israeli restrictions, 80,000 people performed the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Islamic Waqf Department in Al-Quds.
Israeli occupation forces imposed tight restrictions on worshippers arriving from other West Bank governorates to Al-Quds to perform the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Occupation forces turned back dozens of elderly people at the Qalandiya and Bethlehem military checkpoints as they were heading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming they lacked the required entry permits. They also detained four paramedics and obstructed the work of journalists and medical crews at the Qalandiya checkpoint.
Additionally, Israeli forces imposed restrictions on worshippers entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, checking young men’s IDs at the entrances of the Old City and the mosque’s gates, and preventing many from entering.
