Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Bin-Gvir along with dozens of colonial Israeli settlers invaded Sunday, 21 May 2023, the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed provocative rituals under high Israeli protection.

Local media sources reported that Israeli settlers backed by Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Bin-Gvir broke into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa and performed provocative Talmudic rituals in some of its yards under the Israeli occupation forces’ protection.

Ben Gvir invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second time since the formation of the far-right government last December, fueling the Palestinians’ and Arabs’ anger amid a scale of condemnation.

The visit of Ben Gvir came a few days after the “Flags March” marking the Israeli occupation of Palestinian East Jerusalem following the 6-day war in 1967, a step that is not internationally recognized.

“I have been to the Temple Mount. Jerusalem is our soul,” Ben Gvir wrote on his Telegram account.

The leader of the far-right party was charged more than 50 times in his youth for inciting violence or for hate speech, and convicted in 2007 of supporting a terrorist group and inciting racism.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces are widely spread across the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to protect the colonial settlers, prohibiting the presence of Palestinians. 

Colonial settlers’ backed by the Israeli occupation forces repeatedly invade Muslims and holy places in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem in a flagrant violation of all international conventions and laws, guaranteeing Palestinian people’s right to worship in their sacred sites.

As part of a decades-old accord between Jordan and the Israeli occupation, non-Muslims are not allowed to perform any religious rituals inside the confines of Al-Aqsa Mosque, nor are Israeli symbols allowed to be displayed.

In 2003, the Waqf’s management of Al-Aqsa visits was revoked by Israeli authorities. Since then, Israeli forces have allowed colonial settlers to break into the site on a near-daily basis. 

Illegal settlers repeated violations of Muslim, as well as Christian, symbols as a deliberate attempt to Judaise the occupied Jerusalem, with the progressive expulsion of the local population; the Palestinians.

In 2022, 56670 colonial settlers invaded Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards and performed Talmudic provocative rituals in its squares, according to Palestinian figures.