Key facts
- Israeli police have eased restrictions on Jewish prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
- Worshippers are now reportedly allowed to bring prayer books into the compound.
- This relaxation of rules is seen as a violation of the "status quo" agreement.
- Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participated in a provocative display at the site.
- Thousands of Jewish visitors entered the compound, engaging in prayer and nationalistic displays.
Israeli police have eased restrictions on Jewish prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, allowing worshippers to bring prayer books into the site, according to Haaretz. This move, which violates the established "status quo" agreement administered by the Jordanian Waqf, has drawn condemnation.
Earlier this year, police had already permitted Jewish worshippers to bring prayer sheets into the compound. The recent escalation saw Israel's far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, join thousands of Jewish extremists who stormed the sensitive holy site. Escorted by armed police, they prayed, waved the Israeli flag, and sang the national anthem, a provocative display of political power.
Under the fragile, decades-old status quo agreement, non-Muslim prayer is banned at the site, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Ben-Gvir has been instrumental in eroding this agreement through inflammatory visits and unilateral changes to rules for Jewish visitors. He installed an ideological ally as the head of the Jerusalem police force in January, facilitating these changes.
The Palestinian ministry of religious endowments and affairs stated that these practices "seek to ignite a religious war throughout the entire region." Israelis prayed in parts of the compound close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine. Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi was among a group that raised Israeli flags and sang the national anthem. Ben-Gvir expressed on social media that "we see enormous progress here," and that Jews praying there "feel like the owners."
Thursday coincided with the Jewish holy day of Tisha B’Av, marking the destruction of the first and second temples at the site. Changes to the status quo have historically fueled conflict in Jerusalem and Palestine, with significant repercussions. A visit by Ariel Sharon in 2000 ignited the second Palestinian intifada, and Hamas cited Israeli violations at the mosque as a reason for its October 2023 attack.
Peace Now, an Israeli activist group, called the prayers a "dangerous provocation" that directly violates the status quo. The Jordanian foreign ministry condemned the storming and urged the international community to compel Israel to halt its violations. The Islamic Waqf Department reported that 3,228 Israelis entered the compound during the morning period, with thousands more expected later.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly supported Jewish prayer at the site, claiming coordination with Ben-Gvir, though his government has effectively altered the status quo while insisting Israel has not violated the agreement. Overnight, thousands marched through old Jerusalem, with some attacking Palestinians and vandalizing a Muslim cemetery, leading to the arrest of 16 Jewish suspects.