OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, coinciding with what Israel calls “Jerusalem Day,” and ahead of the annual “Flag March” marking Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 according to the Hebrew calendar.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that 1,412 settlers stormed the Mosque courtyards during the morning and evening incursions, alongside strict Israeli restrictions on worshipers and Jerusalemites.
A video showed Ben Gvir raising the Israeli flag and dancing with a group of right wing Israelis, with the Dome of the Rock behind them. He and settlers chanted “The People of Israel Live,” while he declared: “Today more than ever, Al Aqsa is in our hands.” وزير الأمن القومي الإسرائيلي إيتمار بن غفير يرقص داخل باحات المسجد الأقصى بحماية الشرطة الإسرائيلية خلال اقتحامات جماعية للمستوطنين #فيديو pic.twitter.com/TitqBP6HMp — الجزيرة – قدس (@Aljazeeraquds) May 14, 2026 On Sunday, Ben Gvir had also stormed Al-Aqsa with settlers, performing Talmudic prayers inside its courtyards, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. Another recording showed Knesset member Yitzhak Kroizer of the Jewish Power party storming the Mosque and raising the Israeli flag.
Since Thursday morning, Al-Aqsa has witnessed wide incursions led by a Knesset member and a prominent rabbi, who performed Talmudic rituals, while the Israeli occupation authorities restricted entry of Palestinian worshipers and tightened measures at the gates.
From Sunday to Thursday each week, settlers storm Al-Aqsa under heavy security protection in two shifts: 7:30–11:30 a.m. and 1:30–3:00 p.m.
The Jerusalem Governorate said the incursions followed calls by settler groups to intensify them on the occasion of the “Hebrew anniversary of Jerusalem’s occupation” in 1967. Knesset member Ariel Kallner and extremist rabbi Yehuda Glick led the incursions, with Glick holding a study circle in the Mosque’s eastern section.
Meanwhile, the governorate reported that occupation police imposed harsh measures on Palestinian worshipers “to clear the Mosque for settlers’ incursions,” barring men under 60 and women under 50 from entry since dawn, and assaulting several worshipers at the gates.
Police forced worshipers, Islamic Waqf staff, and students of the Sharia school to remain inside covered prayer halls and buildings, preventing their presence in the Mosque’s open areas to fully vacate it for settlers.
The governorate estimated about 150 Muslims were inside Al-Aqsa, including Waqf staff and students taking final exams, while more than 200 settlers stormed the Mosque in the first hour alone.
In the Old City, Israeli occupation forces compelled merchants to close their shops all day to secure the Al-Aqsa incursions and the evening Flag March.