More than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday during the Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av, according to Palestinian officials, in a development that has heightened tensions around one of the world’s most sensitive religious sites.
Among those visiting the compound was Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who arrived under heavy police protection.
His visit came as thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered to mark Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Jewish Temples, believed by Jews to have stood on the site known as the Temple Mount.
For Muslims, the same area is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, regarded as Islam’s third holiest site after Makkah and Madinah.
The Jerusalem governorate of the Palestinian Authority said that 4,288 Israelis had entered the compound by Thursday afternoon.
Officials said, "The figure was expected to continue increasing until sunset and could exceed 5,000, potentially setting a new record for the holiday.”
Palestinian authorities accused Israeli security forces of imposing strict access controls at the entrances to the compound, saying that many Palestinian worshippers and students were prevented from entering.
They also alleged that several worshippers were assaulted during the operation.
Security measures were also intensified across occupied East Jerusalem, including at key checkpoints such as Qalandiya, where access to the mosque compound was reportedly restricted.
According to the Jerusalem governorate, groups of Israeli visitors performed religious rituals inside the compound, including prayers, singing and acts of prostration.
Israeli media reported that police permitted more than 1,000 Jewish visitors to pray at the site during the day.
The religious status of the compound remains a highly sensitive issue. Under the long-standing status quo arrangement established after Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967, non-Muslims are allowed to visit the site but are not permitted to pray there.
Any perceived change to these arrangements has frequently led to heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
Speaking during his visit, Ben-Gvir said Jewish visitors to the site during Tisha B’Av ‘feel like the owners’ and described the growing number of Jewish visitors as ‘tremendous progress’, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
The developments come amid continuing friction over access to holy sites in Jerusalem, where religious and political sensitivities remain at the centre of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
