OCCUPIED JERUSALEM,(The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)Extremist “Temple Mount” groups stormed the Aqsa Mosque on Sunday in unprecedented numbers, marking the seventh day of the Jewish holiday “Sukkot,” under heavy security protection.
Jerusalem-based sources confirmed that 2,205 settlers stormed the Aqsa Mosque over the day, bringing the total number of settlers who entered the site since the beginning of Sukkot to 6,256, a dangerous escalation observers say is the largest in the history of such incursions during this religious season.
Researcher Ziyad Ibhais, an expert on Jerusalem affairs, said that Sunday’s incursion was the largest ever recorded during Sukkot, surpassing the previous record of 1,783 settlers on October 20, 2024.
Ibhais added that the rate of incursions is continuously rising, enabling “Temple Mount” groups to exploit the momentum, especially amid Arab and Islamic silence, to impose new Judaizing realities inside Aqsa Mosque.
Meanwhile, Dr. Abdullah Marouf, Professor of “Jerusalem Studies,” warned of the dangers in the remaining days of Sukkot, particularly Sunday and Monday, which mark the peak of incursions. The holiday concludes with “Simchat Torah”, a day that typically involves large-scale attempts to introduce ritual offerings into the Mosque.
He explained that the escalation coincides with the second Hebrew anniversary of the October 7 events, a date exploited by extremist Temple groups and the religious Zionist movement as a show of force in their attempt to solidify their presence in the Aqsa Mosque.
Dr. Marouf also noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has symbolically tied the release of Israeli captives to this same Hebrew anniversary, aiming to craft a narrative of victory for his far-right supporters.
The Jewish holiday season has long been considered one of the most dangerous periods of aggression against the Aqsa Mosque as it witnesses surges in settler incursions and violations.
