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Al-Aqsa raids under guard
Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under Israeli police protection, with a local official saying around 600 illegal settlers entered and at least 584 entered through the Moroccan Gate during the morning.
“Around 600 illegal Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under Israeli police protection”
The TRT World report said the storming happened under Israeli police protection and that additional groups were expected to enter after noon prayers, as Thursday marked the first day of a new month in the Hebrew calendar.
İlke Haber Ajansı said around 100 Israeli settlers entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday morning under heavy protection from Israeli police and special forces, and that they entered through the Magharibeh Gate and exited through the al-Silsila Gate along designated routes.
Witnesses described groups performing religious rituals, prayers and dances inside the compound, and the sources tied the timing to periods when settler incursions typically increase.
An Anadolu Ajansı report said an Islamic Endowment Department official confirmed that "584 settlers stormed the mosque in the morning period through the Bab al-Mughariba gate" under police guard, with additional incursions expected in the post-noon period.
Reactions and competing frames
Palestinian sources described the visits as provocative tours and religious rituals that violated the longstanding status quo, while İlke Haber Ajansı said Israeli police imposed strict restrictions on Palestinian worshippers and young Palestinians around the compound.
The Anadolu Ajansı report said eyewitnesses described the incursions as including the performance of Jewish rituals, prayers, and dancing in violation of the status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In a separate framing, the Arab League’s General Secretariat condemned the storming as a violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa and of international law and UN resolutions, warning of the danger of continued Israeli practices.
The Arab League statement on X held Israel fully responsible for repeated violations and called on the international community, especially the Security Council, to stop the incursions and provide protection for the Palestinian people and their holy sites.
The Arab League also reaffirmed that "East Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine" and said all Israeli measures aimed at changing the city’s status and character are void and illegal.
Broader escalation and risks
The Al-Aqsa raids were reported alongside other developments in the occupied West Bank, including Israeli forces entering the town of Qusra south of Nablus and imposing tight security measures such as closing areas, a curfew, and a military presence inside and around the town.
“The United Nations confirmed that about 15 Palestinians, including two children, were trapped inside their homes without water or electricity”
عين ليبيا reported that Abdulazim Wadi, head of Qusra municipality, said Israeli forces spread to several neighborhoods, while three Palestinian families, including children, remained besieged in the Ras al-Ain area with difficulties obtaining water, electricity, food, and medicines.
The United Nations confirmed that about 15 Palestinians, including two children, were trapped inside their homes without water or electricity, according to the same account.
In parallel, the Arab League warned that continued practices and attempts to impose new facts inside Al-Aqsa Mosque could entrench temporal and spatial division, and it called on the Security Council to bear responsibilities.
The TRT World report also said Israeli authorities began allowing such incursions in 2003 and that the stormings have become a recurring feature, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays, as numbers increased over time.
