Settlers storm Al-Aqsa as 50,000 more expected in 'Flag March'
Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound early morning on Thursday under heavy protection from occupation forces, performing provocative Talmudic rituals in its courtyards as around 50,000 settlers prepare to participate in the so-called "Flag March" through occupied al-Quds later in the day.
More than 200 settlers entered the compound within the first hour alone, as occupation forces imposed sweeping restrictions on Palestinian worshippers, barring men under 60 and women under 50 from entering the mosque and physically assaulting those who attempted to reach its gates.
Occupation forces cleared the mosque compound ahead of the settler incursions, confining Endowment employees, Islamic seminary school students, some of whom are sitting final exams, and other worshippers to covered prayer halls and buildings, preventing them from accessing the open courtyards. Fewer than 150 Muslims were present inside Al-Aqsa during the incursions.
Forces assaulted several men and women at the mosque gates, pushing and beating those who attempted to attend dawn prayers.
Settlers perform 'epic prostration'
Settlers who entered the compound performed Talmudic rituals accompanied by singing and dancing, including what is known as "epic prostration," lying fully face-down on the ground inside the mosque courtyards.
The incursions were described by settler groups as a "compensatory incursion" tied to the Hebrew calendar occasion. Extremist Knesset member Ariel Kallner was among those who stormed the compound during Thursday's incursions.
Friday plans alarm Palestinian officials
The Thursday incursions come ahead of a more alarming escalation planned for Friday. Twenty-two Israeli officials, including nine ministers and 13 Knesset members, signed a letter calling on occupation police to permit settlers to storm Al-Aqsa on Friday, when such incursions are normally prohibited.
The letter was published by the far-right organization Beyadenu, which advocates for settler incursions into Al-Aqsa. The majority of signatories belong to Likud, the party of occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Since 2003, occupation police have allowed settlers to enter Al-Aqsa almost daily, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays. A push to permit Friday incursions would mark an unprecedented breach of even this limited arrangement, in place since the occupation of al-Quds in 1967.
The al-Quds Governorate warned that the move reflects "clear intentions to impose a new reality by force," describing it as a dangerous escalation aimed at altering the historical and legal reality at Al-Aqsa and undermining the sanctity and religious status of the site.
Old City shuttered, villages raided
Occupation authorities on Thursday ordered shop owners in al-Quds's Old City to close their businesses by noon, with the closures tied to the "Flag March." Occupation forces simultaneously raided the village of al-Jib, northwest of occupied al-Quds, deploying military vehicles and infantry patrols throughout its streets.
In the town of Hizma, northeast of al-Quds, occupation forces intensified measures at entrances, obstructing the movement of residents, employees, and school students.
Cabinet to approve military complex on UNRWA ruins
In a step to further Judaize the city, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve on Sunday the construction of an occupation military museum, a recruitment office, and a headquarters for War Minister Israel Katz on the ruins of the UNRWA compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied al-Quds. Under the proposal drafted by Katz, approximately 36 dunams (9 acres) would be allocated to the Defense Ministry without a tender.
Palestinian, religious voices
Grand Mufti of al-Quds and the Palestinian Territories Sheikh Mohammad Hussein warned against "Israeli attempts to undermine the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque through intensified incursions and provocations by extremist Jewish groups, backed officially with the aim of altering the religious identity of the holy sites."
Palestinian calls have grown to mobilize and maintain a presence at Al-Aqsa to confront settler incursions.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has documented acts of violence by Jewish marchers directed at Palestinian residents and journalists during past "Flag March" events, noting that participants "provoke and even attack the Palestinian residents" of the Muslim Quarter as the march passes through.
What is 'Jerusalem Day'?
"Jerusalem Day," or Yom Yerushalayim, marks the occupation of East al-Quds by Israeli forces during the 1967 war. The holiday has been commemorated since 1968, when the Knesset voted to mark the occupation of Palestinian neighborhoods in the city. It was enshrined as an Israeli holiday in 1998, when Netanyahu signed it into law during his first tenure in office.
This year's festival runs from sunset on Thursday, May 14, to nightfall on Friday, May 15. The focus of the holiday is the "Flag March," during which tens of thousands of ultra-nationalist Israelis and settlers march from the city center through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, ending at the al-Buraq Wall. During the march, participants routinely chant racist remarks, attack Palestinian residents, and vandalize property.
Friday, May 15, also marks the Nakba, the day Palestinians commemorate the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, when 13,000 Palestinians were killed and 750,000 others expelled from their homes by Zionist and later Israeli militias during the creation of the Israeli entity.
Escalation beyond al-Quds
This year's march comes amid reports that the occupation government intends to expand occupied al-Quds's municipal boundaries for the first time since the annexation of East al-Quds in 1967, pushing them further into Palestinian areas of the occupied West Bank.
The occupation government has also allocated over one million shekels ($344,000) to fund settler "flag marches" in cities across occupied Palestine with large Palestinian communities, including al-Lyd, Ramla, and Haifa. Additional marches are planned in Yavne, Asdoud, Beer Sabe, Herzliya, Petah Tikva, and Raanana.