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Hundreds of Israelis, led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday under heavy police protection, according to Palestinian officials and media reports. The incursion took place on the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and drew sharp condemnation from Palestinian leadership, who warned it could ignite a religious war in the region.
The Jerusalem governorate reported that Israeli forces sealed off intersections and streets in the Old City that lead to the compound, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. According to the governorate, roughly 900 people entered the site during the morning hours, with witnesses describing groups dancing in circles and singing within the mosque courtyards.
Ben-Gvir, a long-controversial figure in Israeli politics known for his hardline stance on Palestinian rights and holy sites, issued a defiant statement during the visit. "We are the owners of the place in Al-Aqsa and in the prisons, and we have turned the lives of terrorist prisoners into hell," he said. He added that "the people of Israel are on the path to absolute victory, and today we pray in Al-Aqsa, which is the most important place for the Jewish people."
The compound, located in occupied East Jerusalem, is one of the most sensitive religious sites in the world. It is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism, a dual significance that has made it a frequent flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Under a longstanding arrangement known as the status quo, non-Muslim prayer at the site has been restricted, though Jewish visits have been permitted during certain hours.
Monday's intrusion was accompanied by sweeping restrictions on Palestinian daily life in the surrounding area. Israeli authorities forced dozens of Palestinian shopkeepers to close their businesses and instructed residents to remain inside their homes in neighborhoods near the mosque. The measures were described as necessary to facilitate Jewish prayers during Sukkot.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel condemned the closures, stating that "dozens of Palestinian owners of shops, cafes and restaurants in the Cotton Merchants Market in Jerusalem's Old City were forced to close them during the Jewish Sukkot holiday to make way for Jewish prayers in the market." The market, a historic commercial artery in the Old City, typically bustles with Palestinian merchants and shoppers.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh characterized the incursion as "playing with fire and a dangerous provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world." He further warned that Israel was actively seeking to ignite a "religious war" across the region, language that underscores the escalating tensions surrounding the holy site.
The incursion is not an isolated event. Since 2003, Israeli police have permitted groups of Israelis to make daily visits to the Al-Aqsa compound, with exceptions on Fridays and Saturdays. However, the presence of a senior government minister like Ben-Gvir elevates such visits from routine provocations to high-stakes political statements, analysts say.
Israel has also imposed increasingly severe restrictions on Palestinian worshippers in recent years. Earlier in 2026, Israeli authorities blocked Eid al-Fitr prayers at Al-Aqsa, allowing only 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank — a territory home to approximately 3.3 million people — to enter the site for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan. The move was widely criticized as a violation of religious freedom.
Ben-Gvir's participation in Monday's incursion is consistent with his long record of provocative actions at the site. Just weeks earlier, on August 31, he stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, an event that drew international attention and condemnation. His repeated visits have been seen by critics as deliberate attempts to alter the status quo and assert Israeli sovereignty over the site.
The timing of the incursion, during Sukkot, a week-long Jewish holiday that commemorates the Israelites' wandering in the desert, adds another layer of religious and political significance. The holiday is one of three pilgrimage festivals in Judaism, and visits to the Temple Mount during this period carry particular symbolic weight for religious nationalists.
Palestinian leaders and human rights organizations have long argued that such incursions, coupled with restrictions on Muslim worship, constitute a systematic effort to Judaize Jerusalem and marginalize its Palestinian population. Israel denies this, maintaining that it protects freedom of worship for all religions while ensuring security.
The international community has repeatedly expressed concern over changes to the status quo at the Al-Aqsa compound. Jordan, which serves as the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem under a 1994 peace treaty with Israel, has warned that unilateral actions could destabilize the region. The site's fate remains one of the most contentious issues in the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Monday's events are likely to further strain already heightened tensions. Palestinian factions have called for mobilization, and the incursion could spark protests in the West Bank, Gaza, and among Muslim communities worldwide. The coming days will test whether diplomatic channels can prevent another cycle of violence.
For now, the images of Israelis dancing and praying at the compound under police guard, while Palestinian shopkeepers were forced to shutter their businesses, serve as a stark illustration of the power dynamics in occupied East Jerusalem. The incident underscores the fragility of the status quo and the potential for a single provocative act to ignite a much larger conflagration.
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