Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Governorate has issued a warning about escalating plans by extremist 'Temple' groups to stage the largest incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the pretext of the so-called anniversary of the destruction of the alleged Temple, Tisha B'Av, which is set to occur next Thursday.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the governorate emphasized that this event is no longer an isolated activity by extremist groups but has become an integral part of an official Israeli policy. This policy is seen as an effort to impose new realities within Al-Aqsa Mosque, undermining the historical and legal status quo, and advancing a project aimed at the temporal and spatial division of the site.
The governorate highlighted a broad mobilization campaign led by 'Temple' groups, intending to surpass last year's record of 4,000 intruders, with the target set at 5,000. This gradual escalation has been ongoing since 2021, demonstrating a strategic effort to establish the occasion as the largest annual incursion season into Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Recent trends reveal a steady increase in the number of intruders, from around 2,200 in 2022 and 2023, to 3,000 in 2024, and 4,000 in 2025. This year's mobilization began with the Hebrew month of Av, marked by 677 colonists storming Al-Aqsa Mosque on July 15, indicating the scale of preparation by 'Temple' groups.
The mobilization coincides with a political and official escalation, evidenced by a conference in the Israeli Knesset titled 'A Decade of Positive Change on the Temple Mount and 59 Years of Its 'Redemption'.' The conference, attended by ministers and Knesset members, called for altering the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, including permitting full prayers and Talmudic rituals while restricting Muslim access.
The Jerusalem Governorate views these developments as a clear political endorsement of a project to impose Israeli sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque, contravening international law and United Nations and UNESCO resolutions that affirm the mosque as an exclusively Islamic place of worship.
Furthermore, 'Temple' groups have called for a 'Jerusalem Sovereignty March' on the eve of the planned incursion. The march is set to start from 'Independence Garden'-built over the historic Mamilla Muslim Cemetery-and proceed around the Old City's gates toward Al-Buraq Plaza, aiming to assert new colonial displays of sovereignty linked to the annual incursion season.
The governorate reiterated that Al-Aqsa Mosque, encompassing 144 dunums, is exclusively Islamic, and any Israeli actions to alter its identity, character, or legal status are deemed null and void.