Gaza: On April 28, 2025, Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, according to reports by Wafa news agency. The raid was carried out under the protection of Israeli police, escalating tensions once again at one of the most sensitive religious sites in the region.
Witnesses reported that after entering the compound, the settlers performed Talmudic rituals inside the mosque grounds. These acts are considered provocative and have triggered anger among Palestinians, who see them as a direct violation of the site's sacred status.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, is located in Jerusalem’s Old City. According to the long-standing status quo, Jewish people are allowed to visit the site but not to perform religious rituals. However, recent years have seen growing challenges to this arrangement by settlers and Israeli officials.
Israeli settlers involved in such incursions are residents of illegal settlements built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. These actions are widely viewed by Palestinians and international observers as attempts to assert Jewish control over the contested site.
The incident adds to the growing tension in Jerusalem and the wider region, where repeated violations of the Al-Aqsa status quo have often led to wider clashes and unrest. Many fear that the continued provocations could ignite another wave of violence.
