Israeli Ministers Lead Over 1200 Settlers in Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound Visit

Over 1,200 Israeli settlers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Army Minister Yisrael Katz, entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday, September 28, 2026, during the Jewish Sukkot holiday. The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Ben-Gvir and Katz led the settlers' incursion under heavy police escort, performing Talmudic rituals in the eastern section of the compound. This event marks a significant increase in settler visits to the mosque during Jewish holidays, which are often accompanied by heightened Israeli military presence in Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials accuse Israeli authorities of exploiting these holidays to establish new realities on the ground, desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and disrupt the daily lives of Jerusalem residents. The current holiday period, Sukkot, runs from September 26 to October 2, following Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur earlier in September. The holiday season concludes with Simchat Torah on October 3.

Yesterday, approximately 1,500 settlers and rabbis reportedly entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque, performing Talmudic prayers and rituals near the Qattanin Gate. They also brought in "vegetable offerings," sang, danced, and prostrated themselves, actions described as a continuous escalation of imposing Jewish rituals within the mosque and attempting to alter its historical and legal status. The Jerusalem Governorate noted that these incursions have evolved beyond prayer, with settlers engaging in public celebrations, singing, and dancing, which are seen as provocative and disrespectful to the sanctity of the mosque and Muslim sentiments, indicating a growing trend of public religious observance within the compound.