OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs reported a rise in the frequency of incursions by the Israeli occupation army and its settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the past month of August. These incursions included participation from racist political officials who call for the eradication of the Palestinian people.
In a report documenting the religious conditions in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, the Ministry of Endowments noted on Tuesday that there were 21 incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque in the past month. It pointed out that settlers now perform their prayers in groups openly, accompanied by Talmudic rituals such as the so-called “epic prostration” (lying prostrate in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque).
The report highlighted that this “epic prostration” has become a daily occurrence, especially in the eastern part of the Mosque, just meters away from the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall, under the protection of occupation forces. The far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participated, having announced his intention to build a Jewish synagogue in Al-Aqsa’s courtyard. The occupation government also decided to fund settlers’ incursions into Al-Aqsa with a budget of up to two million shekels.
The Ministry noted that the number of settlers who stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque last month reached 7,692, the highest number since the beginning of this year. Among them, 2,958 settlers stormed the Mosque on August 13 during the so-called “Temple Destruction Memorial,” where they performed Talmudic rituals, raised the occupation flag, and for the first time performed their rituals facing the Dome of the Rock from the western side of Al-Aqsa.
Regarding the Ibrahimi Mosque, the Ministry of Endowments indicated that the occupation prevented the call to prayer 57 times, in an attempt to impose temporal and spatial division on the Mosque. Additionally, occupation forces issued a decision to close the Ibrahimi Mosque for several days, climbed onto the roof of the adjacent Ashraf corner, filmed the location with cameras, and obstructed the operation of the fire network in the Ibrahimi Mosque under the pretext of emergency security events.
The Ministry confirmed that the actions of the occupation constitute a blatant and flagrant violation of the endowments’ authority in the Ibrahimi Mosque, a serious encroachment on its sanctity, a provocation to the feelings of Muslims, and an attempt to take control of it.
Regarding Islamic and Christian holy sites and places, the report documented the occupation forces’ attack on the Iman Mosque in Qalqilya, where the main door was broken, and they entered the mosque, searched it, tampered with its contents, and vandalized the women’s prayer area.
The occupation forces also fired tear gas canisters at worshipers in Omar bin Al-Khattab Mosque in the town of Kafr Qaddum during Friday prayers, surrounded part of the worshipers inside the mosque, prevented others from attending Friday prayers, and caused the mosque’s glass windows to break.
In Jenin and Tubas, the occupation forces stormed Khalid bin Al-Walid Mosque in the eastern region during their incursion into the governorate, initiating demolition and bulldozing parts of the mosque, and set fire to Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Al-Far’a.
In Tulkarem, the occupation forces attacked Al-Shuhada Mosque in Tulkarem refugee camp. Notably, this attack was not the first on mosques in the governorate; previously, the Mu’adh bin Jabal Mosque had been demolished and vandalized.
