TNA Staff
The New Arab / April 14, 2025
Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, performing rituals to mark the second day of the Jewish Passover holiday.
Hundreds of settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site, in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, performing religious rituals to mark the Jewish holiday of Passover.
According to the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, 765 settlers entered the compound through the Al-Mughrabi Gate under the protection of heavily armed Israeli police, soldiers, as well as members of the Israeli parliament and religious leaders.
While non-Muslims are permitted to visit the compound under long-standing status quo arrangements, they are not allowed to perform religious rituals there.
Palestinian group Hamas condemned the incursion, calling for increased Muslim presence at the site to confront what it described as attempts by Israeli authorities to impose a “Judaization reality” on the compound.
“Increasing confrontations with the occupation army and its terrorist settlers are a legitimate act in defence of our land, holy sites, and national cause,” Hamas said in a statement.
The latest raid follows a similar incursion on the first day of Passover, when 500 settlers entered the compound alongside Israeli security forces.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa compound 21 times, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. The Jerusalem governorate reported that 13,064 settlers entered the compound in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
While the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself is a revered Islamic site, many Jews refer to the wider compound as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it to be the site of two ancient Jewish temples, though there is no archaeological evidence confirming the existence of the First Temple.
Since 2003, Israeli authorities have allowed settlers to enter the compound nearly daily, excluding Fridays and Saturdays, despite international concern over violations of the religious status quo.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to restrict access to Palestinian Muslim worshippers, especially on Fridays and during the Islamic month of Ramadan, while also conducting frequent raids alongside settler groups.
