برفقة آلاف المستوطنين.. وزير إسرائيلي متطرف يقتحم المسجد الأقصى

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right figure, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque today (Monday) along with several ministers and Knesset members from the "Otzma Yehudit" party, which Ben Gvir leads, to mark the anniversary of Israel's occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

According to the Waqf Department, the number of settlers who stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque reached about 1,200. Ben Gvir appeared in a video on Telegram while in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the Dome of the Rock Mosque visible behind him.

The occupied city of Jerusalem is anticipating the launch of the Israeli "Flag March" today, which is held annually to commemorate the occupation of the eastern part of the city in 1967, amid Palestinian warnings of serious consequences. Tens of thousands of settlers are expected to participate in the march alongside ministers and government officials, under tight security measures that include the deployment of thousands of Israeli police officers in Jerusalem.

The "Flag March" will start from the streets of West Jerusalem towards the Buraq Square, with male settlers marching from "King George" Street in West Jerusalem, entering the Old City through the Damascus Gate, where what is called the "Flag Dance" will take place in its square.

Meanwhile, females will start from in front of the Ma'aman Allah Cemetery west of the Old City and enter the Old City through the Hebron Gate, passing through the Armenian Quarter until they reach the Buraq Wall Square, where the largest gathering and central celebration will occur.

Yesterday (Sunday), the occupation police set up iron barriers around the Damascus Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, as part of their preparations to secure the provocative march that the settlers intend to organize today.

More than a thousand settlers, including Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police and occupation forces, which tightened their security grip around the mosque and prevented worshippers from entering. During their incursion, the settlers performed prayers and Talmudic rituals, in addition to dancing and singing, while one of the intruders raised the Israeli flag inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the occupation forces assaulted several of Al-Aqsa Mosque's guards, removing them from the mosque's courtyards, and deployed more than 200 personnel to secure the settlers' incursions.

The Temple Organizations Union released a provocative promotional video that included calls from 13 rabbis from the leadership of prominent religious Zionist schools and settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, urging the public of the religious Zionism movement to storm the mosque in large numbers today (Monday).

The Jerusalem Governorate warned of a serious escalation that the occupied city will witness as the occupation authorities continue to organize a series of colonial and Judaizing activities aimed at imposing Israeli sovereignty over the city of Jerusalem and entrenching the reality of occupation by force, in blatant violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

In a statement published by the Palestinian News Agency, it confirmed that this annual march is part of a systematic provocative agenda, accompanied by assaults on Jerusalemites and chants of racist slogans against Muslims and Christians, under tight protection from the occupation police, which will impose a complete closure of the area starting at 12:30 PM.

The Chairman of the Palestinian National Council, Rouhi Fattouh, warned of the repercussions of demands from extremist Jewish religious groups to open the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and storm it during the Israeli "Flag March," stressing that these repeated violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque are a violation of international law and United Nations resolutions, which consider East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa, as occupied land with no sovereignty for the occupation over it. He called for decisive international action and emphasized the need to respect the legal and historical status of Jerusalem and to halt all unilateral actions that threaten peace and stability in the region.