Israeli Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Courtyards in Jerusalem Under Israeli Police Protection

A group of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem on Wednesday, entering the mosque’s courtyards under heavy protection by Israeli occupation forces.

“A group of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem today, Wednesday, under heavy protection by Israeli occupation forces”

Al-Jazeera Net

The Jerusalem Governorate said that “dozens of settlers entered the mosque's courtyards and performed provocative Jewish rituals such as the 'heroic prostration' near the Gate of Mercy and the Dome of the Rock.”

Al-Jazeera Net

It added that groups affiliated with the so-called 'Temple' published incitement calls “to mobilize settlers to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque and raise the occupation flag in its courtyards.”

Local sources indicated that the occupation arrested five women inside the Al-Aqsa courtyards in parallel with the settlers' raid.

Eyewitnesses said the settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups through the Moroccan Gate on the western wall of its courtyards, under police guard.

The same day, police continued to tighten security, set up checkpoints, and close roads in Jerusalem, restricting worshippers' entry to Al-Aqsa by detaining IDs and conducting searches.

The incident was also framed by Palestinian and Hamas-linked sources as part of a broader pattern of raids on Al-Aqsa that has continued since the beginning of April under protection of the occupation authorities.

Hamas and Hamas-linked officials described the Al-Aqsa storming and the raising of the Israeli flag inside the courtyards as part of a religious war and a continuing effort to change the character of the holy site.

Harun Nasser al-Din, a Hamas Politburo member and head of the Jerusalem affairs office, said that “the desecration of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a continuation of the religious war waged by the occupation against Al-Aqsa.”

Egyptian Gazette

He said the raids were also “a continuation of attempts to entrench the Judaization project and the temporal-spatial division, imposing Jewish rituals in the mosque's courtyards.”

In a parallel report carried by the Yemeni News Agency (SABA), Haroun Nasser al-Din said in a press release that “these escalating incursions reveal the extent of the extremism, hatred, and malice harbored by settlers against Al-Aqsa Mosque and the city of Quds.”

The Ilke Haber Ajansı report similarly quoted Harun Nasiruddin warning that the incursions reflect a broader “religious war” policy pursued by the Israeli regime and that they are carried out “within the framework of efforts to enforce temporal and spatial division inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Across the accounts, Hamas officials held the “occupation fully responsible for the consequences of these Judaization policies and assaults,” and they emphasized that “Al-Aqsa is a purely Islamic right.”

They also called for mobilization and a sustained Palestinian presence in the courtyards, with Saba quoting Nasser al-Din calling on “the masses of our Palestinian people in Quds, the occupied territories, and all points of contact to mobilize and maintain a widespread presence in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa by Israeli settlers and the raising of the Israeli flag inside its courtyards, warning that such actions would fuel tensions and undermine efforts to restore calm.

“Güneşli Wednesday, April 22, 2026 The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement HAMAS has warned that repeated incursions by Israeli settlers into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque are part of a dangerous escalation, stating that the actions reflect a broader “religious war” policy pursued by the Israeli regime”

İlke Haber Ajansı

In a statement carried by Middle East Monitor, Egypt said it “strongly condemns the storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers under the protection of Israeli police, and the raising of the Israeli occupation flag in its courtyards”.

The statement described the incident as “a blatant violation” of international law and international humanitarian law, calling it “an unacceptable provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide.”

Egypt also said the episode was “an escalation that risks inflaming tensions and undermining efforts to de-escalate and restore stability.”

The Foreign Ministry stressed “its complete rejection of any attempts to alter the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.”

It called on the international community to “assume its responsibilities to stop repeated Israeli violations and put an end to practices that increase tensions and weaken prospects for calm.”

Egypt reaffirmed “its firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” including “the right to establish an independent state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Several accounts placed the Wednesday raid within a longer timeline of repeated incursions and within a calendar framing tied to Israel’s declaration and the Nakba anniversary.

Al-Jazeera Net said there have been ongoing raids on Al-Aqsa “since the beginning of April under protection of the occupation authorities,” and it added that Israeli extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir raided Al-Aqsa on April 12.

Middle East Monitor

It also stated that “Traditionally, Israeli police have allowed settlers to raid the mosque daily since 2003, except Fridays and Saturdays.”

The Afghan Voice Agency report said “Hundreds of Zionist settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque from Bab Al-Magharbeh this morning (Wednesday)” and tied the action to what it called “Independence Day” in the Hebrew calendar, “the anniversary of the Nakba or the catastrophe of the occupation of Palestine.”

That report said according to the Islamic Endowments Authority in occupied Jerusalem, after entering the mosque courtyards, “the settlers began to conduct provocative patrols and performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern part of the mosque.”

It also said Israeli police imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian worshippers by “confiscating identification cards at the entrances to the mosque.”

The same Afghan Voice Agency account connected the Al-Aqsa developments to other holy-site actions by citing Majid Abu Qutish’s statement about the “Star of David” symbol on the roof of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.

The sources portray the Al-Aqsa raid as part of a wider escalation that carries political and religious consequences, with calls for international action and for Palestinians to increase their presence at the site.

Al-Jazeera Net reported that right-wing extremist groups including 'With Our Hands' called for broad raids on the mosque and for raising the Israeli flag to mark the anniversary of Israel's declaration, which it said “falls today according to the Hebrew calendar.”

خبرگزاری صدای افغان

It also described police tightening security, setting up checkpoints, and closing roads in Jerusalem while restricting worshippers’ entry by detaining IDs and conducting searches.

Middle East Monitor’s Egypt statement warned that the flag-raising and storming were “an escalation that risks inflaming tensions and undermining efforts to de-escalate and restore stability,” and it called on the international community to “stop repeated Israeli violations.”

Hamas officials, meanwhile, called for mobilization inside the courtyards, with Saba quoting Haroun Nasser al-Din urging “the masses of our Palestinian people in Quds, the occupied territories, and all points of contact to mobilize and maintain a widespread presence in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The Ilke Haber Ajansı report similarly urged Palestinians to “increase their presence at Al-Aqsa” and called on Arab and Islamic countries to take action against “ongoing violations targeting Islamic holy sites.”

The Afghan Voice Agency report added that Majid Abu Qutish said developments in the Ibrahimi Mosque were “not separate from what is happening in the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” and it described a shared policy of “exercising control, reducing the Islamic presence, opening up space for the performance of Talmudic rituals, and preparing the ground for settlers’ attacks.”