Key facts
- Around 1,300 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday.
- The incursion occurred on Tisha B'Av, a Jewish holiday.
- Israeli forces restricted Palestinian access to the mosque and its surroundings.
- Eyewitnesses reported Israeli police forcibly evacuated Muslim worshippers.
- At least one Palestinian was injured during protests against the incursions.
Approximately 1,300 Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound early on Thursday, the Jerusalem Governorate reported. The incursion took place on Tisha B'Av, a Jewish holiday commemorating historical destructions and exiles. Israeli forces imposed strict restrictions in Jerusalem's Old City, preventing Palestinians from entering the mosque and its surrounding areas.
According to a Palestinian agency, hundreds of Jewish settlers had previously stormed the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem. The Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department stated that 1,180 settlers stayed for over three hours during a prior incident. Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli police entered the complex before the settlers, evacuating Muslim worshippers from the mosque courtyard. Police forces were deployed inside the courtyard before the settlers were allowed entry.
Witnesses also stated that police used rubber bullets to disperse angry Palestinians protesting the settler incursions, resulting in at least one Palestinian being injured. Daily settler incursions into the compound have occurred since Sunday under heavy police protection to celebrate the week-long Jewish Passover holiday. Israeli police have also restricted the entry of Palestinian youths to Al-Aqsa Mosque for dawn prayers. Tensions have been high across Palestinian territories since Israeli forces raided Al-Aqsa courtyards and attacked worshippers the previous week, injuring hundreds.