Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led an incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday, filming himself inside and declaring that Jewish visitors now feel ownership over the site.
In a video released by his office, Ben-Gvir addressed the camera from within the compound and said: "Today you feel like you own the place".
"Now there is still what to do. Now there is still what to improve", the far-right politician continued. "I don't stop nagging the prime minister to do more and more things. We must go up even more, upward, upward".
The remarks were a direct reference to his ongoing campaign to expand Jewish worshipper access to the compound , which he refers to as the Temple Mount using the Jewish religious designation for the site.
Ben-Gvir visits Al-Aqsa regularly during Jewish holidays and has repeatedly declared that the Status Quo governing the site no longer exists.
The Status Quo is a decades-old international arrangement that recognises Al-Aqsa's Islamic character and grants Muslim authorities, administered through the Jordanian Waqf, control over access, worship and maintenance at the compound.
Under the arrangement, Jews may visit but are not permitted to pray at the site.
East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, is occupied Palestinian territory under international law, and Israel holds no recognised sovereignty there.
Several Israeli governments have long come under criticism for permitting raids and acts of worship by ultranationalist and religious extremist Israelis at the compound without Palestinian consent, in contravention of the arrangement.
The intervention drew swift condemnation and came just days after Israeli authorities reopened the compound following a 40-day closure linked to Israel's conflict with Iran . Jewish worshippers perform rituals at al-Aqsa On Monday, the day after Ben-Gvir's incursion, groups of settlers entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa under Israeli military escort and performed a series of religious rituals .
Most notably, settlers carried out what is known as the "epic prostration", lying fully flat on the ground with hands, feet and face outstretched, directly in front of the Dome of the Rock. The act is considered the highest form of submission in biblical belief and was performed in the heart of the compound's courtyards.
The Jerusalem Governorate separately condemned the entry of Israeli Rabbi Eyal Tsinov into the Al-Aqsa compound and his performance of Talmudic prayers on the steps leading to the Dome of the Rock.
In a statement, the Governorate described the act as "a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the place and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims", and warned that such incidents form part of "a systematic escalation targeting Islamic holy sites in the Holy City".
The Governorate also reported that settlers had erected an iron gate between the Qataneen market and the Iron Gate, near the Old City Youth Association and Hosh al-Zorba, part of which settlers had previously seized.
The Governorate described the erection of the gate as an attack on a historical landmark that had fundamentally altered the character of the area, tightening restrictions on Palestinian movement "in parallel with the performance of Judaising rituals in the vicinity of the site".
International and regional reaction was swift, with Jordan's government formally condemning Ben-Gvir 's visit to the compound.
Hamas went further, stating that the incursion "confirms the intentions and determination of the criminal occupation government to implement its Judaisation projects, and also reflects full support for the plans of the terrorist settler groups".
Critics argue that the events of Sunday and Monday mark the latest in a sustained pattern of escalating Israeli incursions at one of Islam's holiest sites, risking to permanently dismantle the Status Quo and inflame regional tensions.