Israel’s national security minister led more than 2,300 Jewish settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound Thursday in one of the largest incursions at Jerusalem’s holiest site in years, as Palestinian worshippers were barred from entering and several were assaulted by Israeli forces.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister who has turned provocative visits to the contested site into a political trademark, joined thousands of settlers marking Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the ancient Temples. Likud Knesset member Amit Halevi performed Talmudic rituals inside the compound and raised an Israeli flag, a direct violation of the historic status quo that governs the site.
The Jerusalem Governorate called it “the largest storming operation this year.” Israeli police allowed groups of up to 150 settlers to enter at a time. Dozens performed “epic prostration” in front of the Dome of the Rock.
Palestinian worshippers trying to reach the mosque for dawn prayers were turned back at the gates. Heavy police deployment throughout the Old City and the mosque’s courtyards effectively locked them out. The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces assaulted several worshippers who attempted to enter.
This is not a spontaneous act. Ben-Gvir has made these incursions a fixture of his tenure, and each one chips away at the unwritten understanding that has governed the Haram al-Sharif / Temple Mount for decades. Under the status quo, Jews may visit but not pray; non-Muslim religious rituals are banned; and the Jordanian-appointed Waqf administers the site. Ben-Gvir’s presence and Halevi’s flag are meant to signal that these rules no longer apply.
The timing is telling. Israel is weeks away from elections, and Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party is fighting for its political life. Provocations at Al-Aqsa reliably rally his base and shift the national conversation toward security and national pride, away from the economy, the war in Gaza, and the corruption investigations that have shadowed the government.
Jordan, which is the official custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, strongly condemned the incursion. The Palestinian Authority called it a “dangerous escalation.” The Foreign Ministry warned of Israeli plans to “undermine the historical and legal status quo.”
Twenty Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers so far in 2026, according to a commission report published the same day. Two more were killed by Israeli forces in Beit Furik, east of Nablus. Two were killed in an Israeli strike on northern Gaza.
None of this is likely to trouble Ben-Gvir. He was photographed smiling in front of the golden Dome of the Rock, his phone in hand, documenting the moment for his followers. The message was unmistakable: the status quo is dead, and he intends to bury it.