Netanyahu Tours Western Wall Tunnels, Hamas Condemns Incursion Into Al-Aqsa Compound

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted videos and photographs showing him and his wife, Sara, walking through tunnels beneath occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound before joining ‘Selichot’ prayers at the Western Wall ahead of Yom Kippur.

Al Jazeera said Netanyahu’s tour took place in tunnels beneath the Western Wall, where he appeared alongside Sara amid heavy security measures and behind bulletproof glass, and where he stated: “Well, we’re in the tunnels at the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall); it’s moving to touch the rock of our existence, we are very close to the Holy of Holies, we are here and we will always be here.”

Al Jazeera

Hamas condemned the visit as an assault on the site’s identity and status, saying Netanyahu’s incursion “into the tunnels and excavation sites beneath the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Al-Buraq Wall, accompanied by provocative statements, constitutes a flagrant assault on its identity and status.”

The Jerusalem Governorate of Palestine said Netanyahu, several Israeli ministers and thousands of Israelis entered the Western Wall yard in occupied East al-Quds amid tight security, and that thousands reached the plaza after passing through Wadi Street in the Old City.

Hamas said Netanyahu’s entry into the tunnels and excavation sites beneath Al-Aqsa and the Al-Buraq Wall, accompanied by what it described as provocative statements, was a “blatant assault on the mosque’s identity and status,” and it urged Palestinians to intensify their presence at the mosque as part of defending it.

In a separate statement carried by Türkiye Today, Hamas said Netanyahu entered tunnels and excavation sites beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque, accompanied by what the group described as “provocative statements,” and it added: “Al-Aqsa Mosque—in its entirety including its courtyards, prayer halls, walls, and gates—will remain an exclusively Islamic mosque.”T

PressTV

Sheikh Sabri, as quoted by saba.ye, said Netanyahu’s actions on the esplanade of the Mosques were “a provocation and a demonstration of claimed sovereignty,” while the same source listed other reactions including “The assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Netanyahu is a flagrant attack on its identity and status.”

The Jerusalem Governorate said large numbers of Palestinians came to the area to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque and shop in the Old City, and it called on Palestinians to “thwart the occupation’s plans” as Yom Kippur approached.

Alongside Netanyahu’s tunnel tour, multiple sources described large numbers of Israeli entrants and settler activity around the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa Mosque in conjunction with Yom Kippur, including a Jerusalem Governorate claim that about 570 Israelis entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday.

tسنیم reported that the al-Quds governorate said about 570 settlers had entered the compound by 10 a.m. local time, performing Talmudic rituals and what it described as “epic prostrations” to mark Yom Kippur, while Netanyahu visited tunnels beneath the Old City and the Western Wall on Saturday evening.

In response to the developments, the Jerusalem Governorate said Netanyahu’s entry and the accompanying rituals were followed by calls for prayers and religious rituals at the Gate of Mercy, and it noted that large numbers of Palestinians had come to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque and shop in the Old City.

The Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, as quoted by شبكة تواصل الإخبارية, emphasized that Al-Aqsa Mosque is “a pure place of worship for Muslims,” and the Jordanian Endowments Administration is the sole authority responsible for managing its affairs according to the historical status quo.