Ramallah (UNA/WAFA) – The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs said that the Israeli occupation continued its daily violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and Islamic and Christian holy sites and places during the month of May.
The report prepared by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs on violations during the past month indicated that 23 incursions into Al-Aqsa by settlers were recorded. The occupation forces also intensified their racist measures and prevented a large number of Jerusalemites from entering the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray in it, while they prevented the call to prayer in the Ibrahimi Mosque 74 times.
The report confirmed that during the month of May, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed a remarkable escalation in the pace of settler incursions, as thousands of settlers stormed the mosque through the Mughrabi Gate during the morning and evening incursions, under heavy protection from the occupation forces.
The peak of the incursions was recorded on May 14, coinciding with the so-called “Jerusalem Day,” when more than 1400 settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including ministers, Knesset members, and extremist figures..
The report explained that extremist “Temple” groups continued their incitement campaigns aimed at intensifying incursions and imposing a new reality inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. They launched organized calls for participation in mass incursions, and a number of Knesset members and Israeli officials demanded extending the hours of these incursions and imposing so-called “Israeli sovereignty” over the mosque, as part of ongoing attempts to impose a temporal and spatial division..
The report noted an escalation in the performance of Talmudic and provocative rituals within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, including "epic prostration," collective prostration, public and collective prayers recited aloud, the wearing and use of tefillin (pocket-wearing garments), as well as dance and singing circles and the raising of Israeli flags within the mosque's courtyards, particularly in the eastern area near the Bab al-Rahma prayer area, all under the direct protection of the occupation forces..
The report also documented the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by a number of ministers, Knesset members, and extremist figures, including the extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, in addition to the participation of figures known for their support of the mosque incursions, in provocative steps aimed at entrenching the settlement presence within its courtyards..
The report indicated that the occupation forces continued to impose strict measures against worshippers, especially during Fridays and religious holidays. On some days, they prevented men under sixty and women under fifty from entering, assaulted a number of worshippers at the gates, and forced worshippers, Waqf employees, and students of the Islamic school to remain inside the prayer halls to clear the courtyards for settlers. The occupation forces also stormed the area surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock during Friday sermons and prayers on more than one occasion..
Despite these measures, Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed a large turnout of worshippers, with tens of thousands performing Friday prayers weekly. The number of worshippers who performed the Eid al-Adha prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque was estimated at about (140) thousand, in a scene that embodied the Palestinians' adherence to their right to worship and to maintain the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque..
In a related context, the report documented a series of daily violations and measures targeting the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Custodians and staff continued to monitor and document these attacks and violations, reporting them immediately to the relevant authorities. The report also recorded the entry of 425 Israeli soldiers into the mosque during the month of May, while the call to prayer was prevented 74 times..
The report explained that the occupation continues to close the eastern gate of the sanctuary and cover its windows with tarpaulins since the beginning of 2025. It also continues to close gate number (7) to employees, and to keep the locks that it placed on the sanctuary doors and electrical cabinets, which directly hinders the work process.
The occupation also deliberately delayed the call to prayer by obstructing the entry of muezzins, and continued to practice humiliating searches of worshippers and employees, subjecting them to insults and abuse, in a clear violation of the powers of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs..
The report also noted the continuation of excavation work and other work inside the Al-Ashraf corner adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque without disclosing their nature, in addition to the storming of the mosque by the occupation forces in civilian clothes more than once and the expulsion of employees from the Isaac prayer hall to secure their entry.
The occupation forces also targeted the custodians and staff, preventing some of them from entering the sanctuary. Meanwhile, settlers and occupation soldiers broke the locks and bolts of the door of the shrine of our master Jacob, peace be upon him, and the shrine of his wife, Lady Laiqah, in addition to removing the window of the al-Malikiyah passage and replacing it with a window bearing phrases in Hebrew..
The report documented the expansion of settler attacks to include mosques in various Palestinian governorates, where settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Jibya, north of Ramallah, and set fire to a number of citizens’ vehicles, in a serious crime that targeted places of worship and private property.
These attacks are part of an escalating policy targeting Islamic holy sites and freedom of worship, amid ongoing calls to provide necessary protection for places of worship in the Palestinian territories..
The ministry affirmed that the ongoing violations against Islamic holy sites during the month of May represent a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of international laws and conventions that guarantee freedom of worship and the protection of holy places. It warned against the continuation of Israeli policies aimed at imposing new realities within the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque..
The ministry called on the international community and human rights and humanitarian organizations to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, and to work to stop these escalating violations, and to ensure the protection of Islamic holy sites and the preservation of the existing historical and legal status thereof.
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