2,200+ settlers, incl. Ben-Gvir, storm Al-Aqsa, shatter status quo
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Under Ben-Gvir’s presence and protection, settlers mark "Tisha B'Av", performing provocative acts in the sacred site to enforce "new realities".
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Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir breaks into the al-Aqsa mosque complex under Israeli security protection, al-Quds, occupied Palestine, August 3, 2025 (Social media)
Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, accompanied by herds of Israeli settlers, stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning, performing Talmudic rituals to mark Tisha B'Av (the destruction of the Temple), in a provocative move that drew widespread Palestinian condemnation as a dangerous escalation.
وزير الأمن القومي في حكومة الاحتلال، إيتمار بن غفير، يقتحم #المسجد_الأقصى المبارك برفقة شرطة الاحتلال. وتزامن ذلك مع اقتحامات جماعية نفذها مستوطنون لساحات المسجد، حيث أدّوا طقوساً تلمودية وغنّوا بصوت جماعي.#الميادين pic.twitter.com/EEokflTLkG
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 3, 2025
More than 2,200 settlers took part in the incursion, storming the al-Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards in waves under heavy Israeli police protection, performing group prayers, chanting, dancing, and shouting inside the compound. All this was done with approval from the occupation police, in a clear violation of even Israeli law. Meanwhile, Palestinians were barred from entering the mosque and the entire Old City through gates near the holy site, according to Al Mayadeen's correspondent.
In a first, Ben-Gvir openly led a minyan, a quorum of 10 Jewish men, in prayer in the al-Aqsa, marking the first time the far-right leader has been seen engaging in overt worship at the sacred Muslim site and the first time a minister has done this provocative act.
Ben-Gvir pushes his provocative agenda
These incursions are part of an organized plan that "Temple" groups had called for in recent days, aiming to make August 3 the "day of the largest incursion" into al-Aqsa, taking advantage of full government support for their religious and political agenda.
The al-Quds governorate warned of the heightened danger posed by this year's event, describing it as "the most serious threat to the al-Aqsa Mosque in years," especially since today's incursion seeks to breach the religious and legal red lines restricting settler conduct within the sanctuary, all under official Israeli support.
Ben-Gvir recently instructed Israeli police to allow settlers to sing and dance inside the mosque, a move Palestinians see as laying the groundwork for imposing "new realities" by force after his May announcement that "prayer and prostration are now permitted on the Temple Mount."
