1,500 Settlers Invade 'Al-Aqsa'... Smotrich Calls for War in the West Bank
1,500 settlers breached the Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy guard, accompanied by Smotrich's statements calling for annexation and war.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
As part of efforts to impose a new religious reality in the area and entrench temporal and spatial segregation, approximately 1,500 settlers breached the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem today, Sunday, under tight security protection by the Israeli police. Meanwhile, the far-right Finance Minister, Betzalel Smotrich, called for the annexation of areas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, which are currently under military control, and for the forces to wage “war” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The Jerusalem Municipality stated in a press release that 1,500 settlers, led by the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Knesset member Omri Bar-Lev, entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in successive groups through the Moroccan Gate, under Israeli police escort, during the morning raiding period on the second day of the “Sukkot” holiday.
It added that the settlers brought plant offerings into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals, including simulating the so-called priestly blessing, epic prostration, and mass prostration, particularly in the eastern area of the mosque.
Ben-Gvir appeared in a video alongside settlers under tight security protection as they raided the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) at the Western Wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of East Jerusalem.
He performed Talmudic rituals at the site as part of group prayers with the settlers, and was seen carrying a large Torah scroll.
The raids coincided with widespread Israeli security measures in the city, including the closure of several main streets and most checkpoints connecting the West Bank to Jerusalem, amid a heavy deployment of Israeli forces.
Katz’s office stated that Palestinian workers would not be allowed to enter settlements in the West Bank during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
In a podcast on the Israeli news site “Walla,” Smotrich said, “I would like us to annex territories extending at least to the (Yellow Line) in Gaza (which separates areas under the control of Hamas from those under Israeli control) and up to the Litani River in Lebanon... because if the war ends at the same lines where it began, what will deter the enemy from launching another war?”
The Jewish holidays began with Rosh Hashanah on September 12 and 13, continued with Yom Kippur on September 21 and 22, then Sukkot from September 26 to October 2, leading up to Simchat Torah on October 3.
