Led by Ben Gvir and Katz.. The number of settlers storming Al-Aqsa rises to about 900

Jerusalem - Afaq News - The number of settlers storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque since this morning, Monday, has risen to 900 settlers, led by Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, on the third day of the so-called "Feast of Tabernacles".

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Gallant and Ben Gvir led the settlers' incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under heavy security provided by the occupation police, and performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern area of the mosque.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque has witnessed an escalation in settler incursions since the beginning of the Jewish holidays, amid tight protection from Israeli forces and military measures in Jerusalem.

The occupation authorities and settlers exploit the holidays to impose new realities on the ground, violating the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and disrupting the lives and daily movements of Jerusalemites.

The Jewish holidays began with Rosh Hashanah on September 12 and 13, followed by Yom Kippur on September 21 and 22, continuing with the Feast of Tabernacles from September 26 to October 2, culminating in the Torah completion on October 3.

It is reported that 1,500 settlers and rabbis stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday, performing Talmudic rituals and prayers, especially near the Cotton Merchants' Gate, one of the mosque's entrances, coinciding with the introduction of what is called "plant sacrifices" into its courtyards, along with chanting hymns, holding dance circles, performing epic prostrations, and collective bowing, in scenes that reflect a continuous escalation in imposing Talmudic rituals inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and attempts to change the existing historical and legal reality within it.

The governor pointed out that the scene was not limited to performing prayers, as the mosque's courtyards witnessed singing, dancing, and the performance of collective celebratory displays by the colonizers during their incursions, in a provocative behavior that touches the sanctity of the mosque and the feelings of Muslims, confirming that the incursions are increasingly turning into a space for holding public religious rituals inside the mosque.

It warned that the repeated allowance of these practices inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the provision of military protection for the intruders, represent a serious escalation in the policy of imposing the status quo, and an attempt to entrench a temporal and spatial division of the mosque, by exploiting Jewish holidays and religious occasions to impose new rituals inside one of the holiest Islamic sites.

These incursions come amid the tightening of the occupation authorities' military measures around Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City, imposing restrictions on the entry and movement of worshippers.

The current month of September has witnessed repeated incursions, including the entry of 480 settlers on September 13, coinciding with what is called "Rosh Hashanah," and about 100 settlers on September 20 during "Yom Kippur."

According to data from the Jerusalem Governorate, 40,661 settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the year until the end of August 2026, while the number of decisions to expel Jerusalemites from the mosque has reached about 800 since the beginning of the year until the beginning of this month.