OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Scores of illegal Israeli settlers entered Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, while Israeli authorities ordered Palestinians in the Old City to close their businesses to allow Jewish prayers during the Sukkot holiday.
Videos posted on social media by illegal Israeli settlers showed them entering the site and performing Jewish religious rituals, prayers and singing. The rituals were concentrated in the eastern section of the mosque compound.
On Sunday, more than 1,500 illegal Israeli settlers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, entered Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection to mark the Sukkot holiday, according to Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf Department and Palestinian media.
On the third day of the Jewish Sukkot holiday, Israeli settlers perform rituals after storming the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site, in provocations of the sentiments of millions of Muslims worldwide. pic.twitter.com/MkaATBdb6j
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 28, 2026
The incursions drew widespread condemnation, with Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh describing them as “playing with fire” and a dangerous provocation to Muslims worldwide. He also warned of a “religious war” that he said Israel was seeking to ignite in the region.
Al-Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest site
Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site and has witnessed increased illegal Israeli settler incursions since the start of the Jewish holiday season, with religious rituals and prayers being performed in its courtyards under heavy Israeli police protection.
Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir invaded Al-Aqsa mosque today along with over 1,700 Israeli settlers, desecrating the third holiest site in Islam.
Ben Gvir danced and sang with the settlers, chanting “The Temple will be built…” pic.twitter.com/ddIHErwNzK
— DOAM (@doamuslims) September 28, 2026
The Jewish holiday period began with Rosh Hashanah on September 12-13, followed by Yom Kippur on September 21-22. Sukkot runs from September 26 to October 2, followed by Simchat Torah on October 3.
The intrusion came as Israeli authorities ordered dozens of Palestinian shopkeepers to close their businesses and residents to remain inside their homes in the Cotton Merchants Market, a passage leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, to make way for Jewish prayers during Sukkot.
Forced closure of shops
“Dozens of Palestinian owners of shops, cafes and restaurants in the Cotton Merchants Market in Jerusalem’s Old City were forced to close their businesses during the Jewish Sukkot holiday to make way for Jewish prayers in the market,” the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement.
The authorities also ordered around 200 Palestinians living along the prayer route to remain indoors while the prayers were being held, the association said.
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Traders said it was the first time they had been ordered to close their businesses for the entire holiday period, with previous closures restricted to certain hours.
The Cotton Merchants Market, which lies along a route leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, has 56 shops, cafes and restaurants, according to the association.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.
In July last year, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
