Settlers storm al-Aqsa Mosque to mark Israeli occupation of al-Quds
Iran Press TV
Monday, 26 May 2025 10:07 AM
Hundreds of Israeli settlers have stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in al-Quds to mark Israel's occupation of the city's eastern sector following the 1967 Six-Day War.
They waved the flags of the occupying regime and performed Talmudic rituals in the mosque's courtyards on Monday commemorating the so-called Jerusalem Day.
Extremist Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among those intruding into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Every year, Israeli settlers mark the event by marching through the streets of al-Quds and its occupied Old City, including the predominantly Arab neighborhoods, to the Western Wall.
The participants regularly assault, attack, and harass Palestinians, shouting inflammatory slogans.
Last year's march saw several attacks on Palestinians and journalists by marchers, who chanted anti-Arab refrains, plastered stickers on shuttered shops, and called for the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli occupation police said on Sunday that they were deploying thousands of officers across al-Quds.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims.
Under an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of the regime's occupation of al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the holy compound is prohibited. But the ban is a mere phrase and, in action, circumstances have been against Muslims.
The provocative settler intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound takes place at a time when Israel keeps its bloody war machine running in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has killed at least 53,939 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in its genocidal war on Gaza since early October 7, 2023.
Hamas slams Ben-Gvir's violation
In a statement, the Palestinian Hamas resistance group said Ben-Gvir's storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound represents a "flagrant violation" of its sanctity and a "desperate attempt" by Israel to judaize the holy site.
It also affirmed that Palestinian people will keep defending the al-Aqsa Mosque and thwarting the Zionist schemes for the holy site's division or judaization.
The Gaza-based resistance group further called on Palestinians to intensify their presence at the Mosque, and confront the settlers' intrusions and rampages.
"We also urge the free people of our Arab and Islamic nation to uphold their responsibilities toward protecting the holy Mosque, support the resilience of our people in al-Quds who face displacement attempts, and work to stop the occupation's aggression against our people and holy sites," Hamas added.
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