OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the Buraq Wall, to the west of al-Aqsa Mosque, on Sunday evening on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, while racist Judaization slogans were projected onto the walls of Bab al-Khalil (Jaffa Gate) in occupied Jerusalem.
Local Jerusalem sources said the raid took place under heavy protection by Israeli occupation police forces, and included the participation of the Israeli-appointed mayor of Jerusalem, a former Israeli prisoner, and several rabbis. The incursion coincided with preparations for what is known as the “Festival of Lights,” which begins on Monday and lasts for eight days.
The same sources reported that settler groups projected Judaization slogans onto the historic walls of Bab al-Khalil as part of broader celebrations marking Hanukkah, a move widely viewed by Palestinians as an attempt to impose Jewish religious and political symbolism on the occupied city.
Settlers also erected large installations of the Star of David and the menorah in the Bab al-Jadid area of occupied Jerusalem, further escalating provocative activities in sensitive locations across the city.
According to Jerusalem-based sources, the storming of the Buraq Wall aimed to light the first candle of Hanukkah in the immediate vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a step Palestinians warn is part of a systematic effort to alter the historical and religious status quo.
At the same time, settler organizations intensified their calls for mass incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque during Hanukkah, urging followers to carry out daily raids over the eight-day holiday period under the protection of the Israeli occupation police forces.
Hanukkah is considered one of the Jewish holidays most closely linked, in Zionist religious narratives, to the alleged “Temple.” During the holiday, Jews commemorate what they claim was the rededication of the temple, with the menorah serving as a central symbol, lit with an additional candle each day over eight days.
Palestinian officials and religious authorities have repeatedly warned that such activities form part of a broader policy of Judaization targeting Jerusalem and its holy sites, taking place amid Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and a sharp escalation of violations across the occupied West Bank.
In a separate incursion, groups of Israeli settlers stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday morning, coinciding with celebrations by so-called “Temple groups” marking the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Israeli occupation police forces tightened security measures around the al-Aqsa Mosque, erecting checkpoints and imposing restrictions to facilitate the settlers’ incursions into the compound.
In response, Palestinian groups and religious authorities issued widespread calls for mobilization and steadfast presence at the al-Aqsa Mosque, urging Palestinians to thwart the occupation’s plans and ongoing settler violations against the holy site, carried out under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.
