Ben-Gvir joins hundreds of Israelis to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkIsraelis enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of police on the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, on September 28, 2026, in occupied East Jerusalem [Gazi Samad/Anadolu]By Al Jazeera Staff and AnadoluPublished On 28 Sep 202628 Sep 2026Hundreds of Israelis led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under police protection.The Jerusalem governorate on Monday said Israeli forces closed intersections and streets surrounding the Old City that lead to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount, in occupied East Jerusalem on the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israel’s Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalemlist 2 of 4Far-right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir and settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosquelist 3 of 4Worshippers in West Bank tear-gassed as Israeli attacks on mosques surgelist 4 of 4Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least five, including childrenend of listIt 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.“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,” Ben-Gvir said. “The people of Israel are on the path to absolute victory, and today we pray in Al-Aqsa, which is the most important place for the Jewish people.”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.“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 to make way for Jewish prayers in the market,” the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement.‘Playing with fire’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 also warned that Israel was seeking to ignite a “religious war” in the region.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 often imposes restrictions on Palestinian worshippers. It 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 one of Islam’s holiest sites for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.