Iran censures Israeli settlers’ incursion into al-Aqsa Mosque

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has condemned the latest incursion by a group of Israeli settlers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied al-Quds and the Israeli military’s stringent restrictions on Palestinian worshipers there.

In a brief statement on Monday night, Esmaeil Baghaei pointed to the ongoing Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories and the regime’s unlawful attacks against Lebanon and other regional states.

He emphasized that the international community is legally and ethically obligated to confront such a trend and prosecute all those responsible for the crimes.

The senior Iranian diplomat noted that the al-Aqsa Mosque compound is among Muslims’ holiest places, denouncing the Tel Aviv regime’s desecration of the sacred site as in line with its policy of altering the Islamic and historical character of al-Quds, and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide.

Baghaei then called upon the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Muslim nations to adopt an effective measure and neutralize the actions of the apartheid Israeli regime against the Islamic and historical identity of al-Quds.

Israeli hawkish minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led an incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday, filming himself inside and declaring that Jewish settlers now feel ownership over the site.

In a video released by his office, Ben-Gvir addressed the camera from within the compound, saying, “Today you feel like you own the place.”

“Now there is still what to do. Now there is still what to improve,” he said. “I don’t stop nagging the prime minister to do more and more things. We must go up even more, upward, upward.”

Hamas calls for global action on repeated Israeli intrusions into Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has called on the international community to assume its responsibility and take effective steps to stop repeated intrusions by Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The remarks were a direct reference to his ongoing ambitious campaign to expand extremist settler access to the compound.

Ben-Gvir visits al-Aqsa regularly during Jewish holidays and has repeatedly declared that the Status Quo governing the site no longer exists.

The Status Quo is a decades-old international arrangement that recognizes al-Aqsa’s Islamic character and grants Muslim authorities, administered through the Jordanian Waqf, control over access, worship, and maintenance at the compound.

Under the arrangement, Jewish visitations to the site may be permitted, but Jews are not allowed to pray at the site.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian government formally condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit to the compound.

The al-Quds Governorate also condemned the incursion of Israeli Rabbi Eyal Tsinov into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and his performance of Talmudic prayers on the steps leading to the Dome of the Rock.

In a statement, the governorate described the act as “a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the place and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims” and warned that such incidents form part of “a systematic escalation targeting Islamic holy sites in the Holy City.”

The governorate also reported that settlers had erected an iron gate between the Qataneen market and the Iron Gate, near the Old City Youth Association and Hosh al-Zorba neighborhood, part of which settlers had previously seized.

It described the erection of the gate as an attack on a historical landmark that had fundamentally altered the character of the area, tightening restrictions on Palestinian movement “in parallel with the performance of Judaizing rituals in the vicinity of the site.”

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