Israeli occupiers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, assault 2 of its guards

Nine Israeli occupiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday after assaulting two of its guards, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said.

"Nine occupiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after assaulting two of its guards, and they were carrying a bread offering," the governorate said in a statement, alluding to the bread offering on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

The Governorate added that the occupiers "forcibly entered the mosque and managed to reach the Dome of the Rock courtyard."

It described the move as "a dangerous precedent and the first of its kind since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967."

The governorate stated that the incursion coincided with "widespread incitement by extremist Temple Mount groups" on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and was part of ongoing attempts to impose a new reality within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Separately, the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said in a statement that occupiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Al-Ghawanimah Gate after assaulting two mosque guards. They managed to reach the Dome of the Rock courtyard carrying a "plant offering."

The Waqf considered the incident "a dangerous escalation and an attempt to impose religious rituals within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound."

More than 70,000 Palestinians performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque despite Israeli restrictions, according to a statement from the Waqf Department.

Since 2003, Israeli police have unilaterally allowed the occupiers to enter the mosque daily during two periods—morning and afternoon prayers—except on Fridays and Saturdays.

Palestinians say Israel is intensifying efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.

The Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1980.

*Writing by Rasa Evrensel in Istanbul