Hundreds of Israeli settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on Sunday, August 7, 2022, under heavy Israeli police guard, coinciding with an attack by settlers on worshipers at the mosque.
The settlers launched a massive assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Sunday morning in groups through the Mughrabi Gate in the western wall of the mosque, accompanied by a large force of occupying police.
Among the perpetrators were former right-wing Likud extremist MP Rabbi Yehuda Glick and extremist MP Itamar Ben-Gvir, who tweeted: “This morning, August 9, I arrived at the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews since my young son David to walk around and remind us that sovereignty over the Haram is ours,” as he put it. Ben Gvir added, “We will never surrender to missiles or threats or to those of us (inside Israel) who attack me.”
For its part, the Department of Islamic Endowments in Jerusalem said in a brief statement: “1,743 extremists stormed the mosque during the morning period,” while more extremist Israelis are expected to storm the mosque during afternoon prayers. In parallel, the Israeli police imposed restrictions on the entry of believers into the mosque.
This came after groups of settlers called for mass incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the anniversary of the so-called “destruction of the Temple”.
In this regard, the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, claimed on Sunday, August 8, 2022 that they bombed the city of Jerusalem with a rocket launch, adding that “occupied Jerusalem and Sderot (city in the south) bombarded by rocket launch. In appropriate context, video footage showed Israeli settlers attacking worshipers inside the mosque during the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and worshipers were present inside the mosque chanting “God is the greatest” while rejecting the incursions. The settlers also held provocative marches near the mosque, where Israeli flags were raised and racist slogans were chanted.
In parallel with the assault on Al-Aqsa, the occupying forces continued heavy shelling of certain areas of Gaza, and Israeli raids until Sunday morning, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, “killed 29 Palestinians, including 6 children and 4 women.” and wounded another 253 people.”
On the other hand, the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, continue to fire rockets and mortars at Israeli positions adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Tensions escalated last week after Israeli forces arrested Jihad leader Bassam al-Saadi in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, prompting the movement to threaten revenge.
Last Tuesday, Israel also announced a number of measures against the Gaza Strip, such as closing the checkpoints linking it to the Gaza Strip; Fearing that the Jihad movement would react to Al-Saadi’s arrest. The situation escalated after Israel announced on Friday, August 5, 2022, the assassination of high-ranking Jihad leader Taysir al-Jabari after shelling his home in Gaza. In response, the Palestinian resistance fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the occupied territories, and Israel used the Iron Dome to intercept them.
