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Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir once again breached Al Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday, as Israel held its annual celebrations marking the capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Mr Ben-Gvir entered the site amid an escalation in Israel's war against Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza, where nearly 54,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since October 2023.
Claiming he was at the site to mark Jerusalem Day, Mr Ben-Gvir said he "prayed for victory in the war, for the return of all our captives and for the success of the newly appointed Shin Bet chief, Maj Gen David Zini". His words came in a post on X, accompanied by a video of himself with Al Aqsa Mosque in the background. "Happy Jerusalem Day," he added.
Photos circulated on Palestinian social media channels showed a smiling Mr Ben-Gvir flanked by religious Jewish families, with some people draped in Israel flags, and a large security detail.
Any Israeli political or non-Muslim religious practice at Al Aqsa Mosque compound is deeply inflammatory for Muslims. It is the third holiest site in Islam.
The Department of Islamic Endowments in Jerusalem said 1,427 Israeli settlers stormed Al Aqsa in the morning in groups, under the protection and escort of national police, with more expected in the afternoon.
Extremist Israelis attacked Palestinian residents, activists and journalists at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City ahead of the provocative flag march through the Muslim Quarter for Jerusalem Day.
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Right-wing youths scuffle with Israeli police. AP -
Police detain a right-wing Israeli during the Israeli 'Flag March' in the Old City of Jerusalem. EPA -
A right-wing Israeli teenager after he was pepper sprayed. Reuters -
Right-wing Israelis and activists argue during the Israeli 'Flag March'. EPA -
Israeli police escort Palestinian women as they walk past right-wing activists. EPA -
A police officer detains an Israeli man. Reuters -
A solidarity activist hands out flowers to Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City. AFP -
Israeli right-wing activists shout at two Palestinian school children. AFP -
An Israeli right-wing youth argues with a left-wing activist. AFP -
Israeli police officers assist a Palestinian man after he was pushed by right-wing Israelis. AP -
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in East Jerusalem. Reuters
The National saw elderly women being pushed over, men being hit as they protected women and children, racist graffiti being scrawled on shops and pictures of Al Aqsa Mosque being torn down. There were chants of “death to Mohammed”.
The area inside Damascus Gate, the busiest commercial area in the Old City, was entirely closed. Businesses there have been targeted in previous years.
Jordan, the custodian of Al Aqsa Mosque compound, condemned Mr Ben-Gvir's presence at the site.
"The practices of this extremist minister and his continued incursions into the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque ... do not negate the fact that East Jerusalem is an occupied city over which Israel has no sovereignty," the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said.
The complex is administered by an Islamic trust funded and controlled by Jordan in a security arrangement with Israel after the two nation signed the peace treaty in 1994. Under the arrangement, Jews are not allowed to pray in the compound, but can do so at the nearby Western Wall.
Hamas, which started the war in Gaza with an attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 taken hostage, condemned Mr Ben-Gvir, calling his actions "a blatant violation of the sanctity and status of Al Aqsa Mosque in the eyes of the entire Islamic nation".
It also "represents a desperate attempt by the occupation to implement the complete Judaisation of the mosque", Hamas said.
Mr Ben-Gvir later addressed thousands of people gathered outside the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem for the start of the flag march, where he called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to allow food or fuel into Gaza.
Thousands of people streamed through the Damascus Gate, chanting and waving Israeli flags, as they headed towards the Western Wall, where the march ends.
Israeli police said officers had been posted across Jerusalem, "securing tens of thousands of participants" and handling "numerous cases of suspects involved in public disturbances".
