4,200+ Israeli Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa in One of Year's Largest Incursions

By Heba Habib

This story was published on 23 Jul 202623 Jul 2026.

The Al-Aqsa compound, Islam's third holiest site, sits in East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since 1967, and is a frequent flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

More than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem in one of the largest incursions this year as they mark a Jewish holiday, Palestinian officials say.

On Thursday, far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the compound under heavy security for Tisha B’Av, a commemoration of the ancient Jewish temple's destruction, which Muslims know as Al-Aqsa and Jews as the Temple Mount.

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The Palestinian administration of the Jerusalem governorate said 4,288 Israelis had so far entered the compound.

The Jerusalem governorate anticipated the total could climb to 5,000 by evening, surpassing prior Tisha B'Av figures.

Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several worshippers.

Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said Israeli authorities had “taken extreme measures in the Old City” of Jerusalem, including barring entry to the Al-Aqsa compound for all but the elderly and tightening checkpoints such as those at Qalandiya and around East Jerusalem.

According to the governorate, settlers conducted religious ceremonies within the site, such as prostrations, singing, and prayers.

Israeli media reported that police allowed more than 1,000 Israelis to pray at the site on Thursday. While non-Muslims are allowed to visit Islam’s third holiest site, they are forbidden from praying there as part of a 1967 agreement.

Ben-Gvir said Jews visiting the site on Tisha B’Av “feel like the owners”, praising what he called “tremendous progress” there, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

‘Unacceptable provocation’

The Jerusalem governorate described Ben-Gvir’s entry as a dangerous escalation, saying it reflected official Israeli backing for actions previously associated with groups advocating for the reconstruction of a Jewish temple at the site.

The Palestinian presidency called the incursions a “dangerous escalation” designed to enforce a temporal and spatial division of the site, asserting that the compound remains an exclusively Islamic place of worship over which Israel holds no legal sovereignty.

Echoing those concerns, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it termed a blatant breach of international law.

Palestinian group Hamas warned that these “blatant acts of aggression will backfire on the occupation and its settlers”.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry ⁠condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit, saying it was “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an ‌escalation, a barbaric act, and unacceptable provocation.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad Majali warned that such actions violate the site’s historical and legal status quo.

Amman urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt what it described as ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera’s Odeh said the participation of Israel’s ruling Likud Party figures marked a “fundamental political shift” as Palestinian and Muslim officials argued that calls for rebuilding a temple at the site are now “endorsed by key figures in the Israeli government and the Israeli parliament”.

Odeh said the incursions were expected to continue into Friday and “could spark further confrontations”, noting that Friday prayers at the compound usually draw thousands of worshippers.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs earlier condemned calls for the incursions as a “dangerous escalation” aimed at altering the historical and legal status quo at the site and urged the international community to press Israel to halt them.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed it in 1980, a move not recognised internationally.

Under a long-standing arrangement, non-Muslims may visit Al-Aqsa but are prohibited from praying there, a rule often challenged by Jewish extremists. Thursday's incursion saw police restricting Palestinian access and assaulting worshippers, as reported by Palestinian officials. Ben-Gvir's participation signals growing official tolerance for such actions, which risk escalating tensions. The site remains central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides asserting claims over Jerusalem.