Jerusalem Governorate Warns Temple Mount in Our Hands Campaign to Storm Al-Aqsa on May 15

Jerusalem Governorate officials warned of a campaign they described as incitement to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday, May 15, 2026, describing the effort as a dangerous escalation aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo of the site.

“Erosion of the status quo at Al-Aqsa, support for settlers' pogroms, and ignorance of violent crimes: if there is an explosion, it will be orchestrated by Israel alone”

Agence Media Palestine

WAFA reported that the governorate said the choice of Friday—“the day on which Al-Aqsa Mosque is closed to colonists incursions”—reflects “a clear intention to impose a new reality by force.”

Agence Media Palestine

The governorate said the timing also aligns with what it called “Jerusalem Day,” which it described as “typically accompanied by large-scale incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning and provocative marches in the Old City in the evening.”

WAFA further stated that the date coincides with “the 28th of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to June 7, 1967,” the day occupation forces seized the eastern part of Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

In the same warning, WAFA said the campaign includes organized actions led by the “Temple Mount in Our Hands (Bedeinu)” organization, including distributing the personal phone number of Itamar Ben-Gvir to urge colonists to contact him directly.

The governorate also said Likud MK Amit Halevi called for opening Al-Aqsa Mosque to colonists on that day, linking it to what it termed “the right of Jews” and “a clash of civilizations.”

Multiple outlets repeated the governorate’s claim that the campaign’s organizers planned to mobilize settlers through petitions and pledges tied to the same Friday, May 15, 2026.

WAFA said the “Bedino” organization launched “a petition for colonists, pledging to raise the Israeli flag inside Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, May 15, 2026.”

France 24

It also said the governorate warned that colonists “have never been able to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on a Friday since the occupation,” but that “recent measures, including the extended 40-day closure” encouraged groups to attempt new precedents.

The Arabic-language account from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed described a different but related set of measures around Al-Aqsa, saying worshippers were able to enter “at dawn on Thursday” for the first time in “forty days” after a closure, while it said settler incursions resumed and hours were extended.

That report said the Jerusalem Governorate confirmed that settlers’ incursions began at “6:30 a.m. instead of 7:00 a.m.” and that the morning period ran “from 6:30 to 11:30,” with an afternoon session “from 1:30 to 3:00,” for “six and a half” hours daily.

It also stated that the governorate said “492 settlers raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Moroccan Gate” during the morning and evening incursions, and that “38 others” entered under the label tourism.

While the governorate warned about mid-May storming plans, France 24 reported that Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s interior security minister and a far-right figure, visited the Temple Mount esplanade on Sunday morning, May 21, according to a statement from the Jerusalem police spokesman.

France 24 said the visit was “immediately described as a provocation by Hamas, the United States and Jordan,” and it reported that Ben Gvir had already been present Thursday at the nationalist Flag March.

The report said “No incidents marred the visit, and he was escorted by police,” and it quoted Ben Gvir writing on his Twitter account: “Hamas's threats will not deter us; I went to the Temple Mount. Jerusalem is our soul.”

France 24 also said the U.S. government is “concerned about the provocative visit” and quoted State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller saying: “This sacred space must not be used for political purposes and we call on all parties to respect its sacred character.”

In the same reporting, France 24 said Jordan condemned the visit as a “provocative measure,” and it described the site’s status quo after Israel’s 1967 conquest of East Jerusalem, saying “non-Muslims may visit the site at designated hours but may not pray there.”

Le Parisien, also citing AFP, similarly reported that the United States denounced the “provocative visit” and quoted Matthew Miller’s statement that “This sacred space must not be used for political purposes and we call on all parties to respect its sacred character.”

The governorate’s warnings and the reporting on Ben Gvir’s visit reflect competing narratives about what constitutes escalation and who is responsible.

WAFA framed the planned Friday, May 15, 2026 storming campaign as “dangerous escalation” intended “to alter the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque,” and it said the campaign’s organizers sought to “portray the decision as a response to ‘popular demands.’”

L'Humanité

In contrast, France 24 described Ben Gvir’s visit as a provocation that drew condemnation from Hamas, the United States and Jordan, while also reporting that “No incidents marred the visit” and that he was escorted by police.

Le Parisien added that Hamas denounced the visit, warning that Israel “would bear responsibility for the barbaric incursions of its ministers and of its mobs of settlers,” and it quoted Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson describing the intrusion as “a dangerous and unacceptable escalation.”

Meanwhile, Agence Media Palestine argued that Israeli warnings about escalation during Ramadan were misleading, stating: “The question is not whether there will be an escalation, but when…”.

Agence Media Palestine then asserted a counter-claim, saying: “Ramadan is not a threat, nor a ‘volatile month,’ and never has been,” and it asked: “who really wants an escalation during Ramadan, and whom should we warn?”

Across the warnings and follow-up reporting, the sources describe a near-term focus on access rules, mobilization, and the risk of clashes around Al-Aqsa.

“Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads internal security and sits on the far right of the political spectrum, went to the site for the second time on Sunday”

Le Parisien

WAFA said the Jerusalem Governorate called on “Palestinian people to commute to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and to be present in large numbers there to thwart these plans,” and it also urged “the international community and human rights institutions to assume their responsibilities and to exert pressure to stop these violations.”

Le Parisien

Saba similarly said the governorate warned against the campaign to force storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, May 15, 2026, describing it as “a dangerous escalation aimed at changing the existing historical and legal status” and “establishing unprecedented precedents.”

Jordan News and وكالـة مـعـا الاخـبــارية both described the same Friday, May 15, 2026 incursion call and emphasized that choosing Friday—when Al-Aqsa is “traditionally closed to settler incursions”—shows “clear intent to impose a new reality by force.”

In addition to the mid-May warnings, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the governorate said occupation police arrested “the female worshipper Muntaha Amara” at one of the mosque gates, hours after another young man was arrested inside the mosque courtyards.

France 24 and Le Parisien, meanwhile, documented the immediate political and diplomatic friction around Ben Gvir’s Temple Mount visit, with U.S. and Jordanian officials condemning it as provocative and with Ben Gvir asserting that “Jerusalem is our soul.”