The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said that more than 3,000 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

The Jerusalem Governorate stated in a statement that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, extremist Knesset member Nissim Vaturi, and Likud Knesset member Amit Halevi led the incursion.

It indicated that Halevi performed Talmudic rituals inside the mosque courtyards and raised the Israeli occupation flag during the incursion, in "a provocative step that violates the historical and legal status quo at the mosque."

It mentioned that occupation forces continue to impose strict measures at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the vicinity of the Old City, deploying heavily across various courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and preventing worshippers from entering the mosque.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads Israeli settlers' incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque, July 23, 2026 - Reuters

It noted that a very limited number of worshippers managed to reach the mosque during the Fajr prayer and perform the prayer, before occupation forces assaulted some citizens and worshippers with beatings.

Israelis perform Talmudic rituals in the Old City of Jerusalem, July 23, 2026 - Reuters

Hundreds of occupation police officers deployed to secure the incursions of tens of thousands of settlers at the Western Wall and the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

"Violation of the status quo"

The Palestinian Presidency condemned the incursion, considering it a "blatant violation" of the historical and legal status quo.

The Presidency affirmed that what is happening in Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a "dangerous escalation, part of a systematic policy aimed at imposing new facts on the ground and attempts to divide it temporally and spatially."

It stressed that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in its entirety, is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims, and that the Israeli occupation has no sovereignty over the city of Jerusalem and its holy sites.

The Presidency called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take a firm stance obliging Israel to cease all its violations and unilateral measures in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.