OCCUPIED AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Israel’s far-right security minister, extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, led a provocative raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday, the second day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. 
Accompanied by hundreds of extremist settlers and protected by heavily armed Israeli forces, Ben Gvir’s incursion is being widely condemned as a blatant violation of the internationally recognized status quo governing the sacred site.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in occupied East Al-Quds, is Islam’s third holiest site. According to long-standing arrangements, upheld by international law and codified in the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, the site is to remain an exclusively Islamic place of worship, administered by the Jordanian-run Islamic Waqf. Under these rules, non-Muslim prayer is strictly prohibited.
Despite this, Ben Gvir entered the mosque’s courtyards and participated in Jewish rituals, posting triumphantly on social media: “We are the owners of the house on the Temple Mount.”
The term “Temple Mount” is used by Zionists to refer to the elevated compound where Al-Aqsa sits.
“I only pray that our Prime Minister will allow a full victory in Gaza as well – to destroy Hamas, God willing, to return the hostages, and we will achieve an absolute victory,” Ben Gvir added in a post on X, further inflaming tensions.
According to the Islamic Waqf, around 1,300 settlers stormed the mosque on Wednesday, following the entry of another 500 on Tuesday. These incursions were facilitated by Israeli police who forcibly removed Palestinian worshippers from the site and imposed tight restrictions on Palestinian access to the area, including identity checks, arbitrary entry bans, and age restrictions.
The far-right minister’s actions are part of a growing pattern, according to Israeli watchdog Ir Amim, which recently warned that Israel is “steadily taking control” of Al-Aqsa. 
The group’s report highlighted how Israeli authorities increasingly exploit Jewish holidays to expand settler presence at the site, while simultaneously eroding Muslim access and obstructing Waqf operations.
Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim, warned that “under the guise of religious connection,” the Zionist regime is using the holidays to consolidate political control over the site, creating “a potential flashpoint” in the already volatile Old City.
The raid by Ben Gvir – a figure long known for his anti-Arab rhetoric and links to extremist settler groups – marks yet another escalation that threatens to destabilize Al-Quds and further inflame regional tensions.