Ben-Gvir leads 900 Israelis into Al-Aqsa compound under police guard

September 28, 2026 at 07:03 PM2 min

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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led hundreds of Israelis into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, the third day of Sukkot. The Jerusalem governorate said 900 people entered the compound in the morning, dancing and singing in its courtyards. Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the incursion a dangerous provocation.

Key Facts

900 Israelis entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday morning, according to the Jerusalem governorate.
Ben-Gvir declared 'we are the owners of the place in Al-Aqsa' during the incursion.
Israeli forces closed intersections and streets surrounding the Old City leading to the compound.
Dozens of Palestinian shopkeepers in the Cotton Merchants Market were forced to close during the incursion.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh described the incursion as 'playing with fire'.

The Incursion

Hundreds of Israelis led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under police protection. The Jerusalem governorate said Israeli forces closed intersections and streets surrounding the Old City that lead to the compound, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount, in occupied East Jerusalem. It said the Israelis danced in circles and sang inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the raid, noting that 900 people entered the compound in the morning. Ben-Gvir said, 'We are the owners of the place in Al-Aqsa and in the prisons, and we have turned the lives of terrorist prisoners into hell.'

Palestinian Restrictions

Monday's intrusion came as Israeli authorities forced dozens of Palestinian shopkeepers to close their businesses and residents to remain inside their homes in areas near the mosque to allow Jewish prayers during Sukkot. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said dozens of Palestinian owners of shops, cafes and restaurants in the Cotton Merchants Market in Jerusalem's Old City were forced to close them during the Jewish Sukkot holiday. Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed groups of Israelis to make daily incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, except on Fridays and Saturdays. Israel prevented Eid al-Fitr prayers at Al-Aqsa this year, allowing only 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, home to 3.3 million people, into the site for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.

Palestinian Response

Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh described the incursion as 'playing with fire and a dangerous provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world'. He warned that Israel was seeking to ignite a 'religious war' in the region.