On Monday, August 26, 2024, Israel announced that it would begin funding organized settler tours to raid the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first time, with the stated aim of “enhancing the Jewish narrative” around the site.
According to a report by the Jerusalem Post, citing the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (“Kan 11”), two million shekels will be allocated from the budget of the Minister of Heritage, Amichai Eliyahu. The ministry aims to solidify the occupation’s narrative through “guided” incursions targeting tens of thousands of Jews and foreign tourists.
“Kan 11” reported that the ministry stated the purpose of these visits is to reinforce and entrench the Old City in occupied Jerusalem, signaling its Judaization. These tours are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
The content and guidance provided during these organized raids of Al-Aqsa Mosque will include, according to the ministry, a presentation of “Jewish heritage on the Temple Mount (Al-Haram Al-Sharif), with a pure historical narrative free from alternative facts.”
Furthermore, “Kan 11” revealed that the Director-General of the Ministry of Heritage, Eti Grink, reached out to the Director-General of Ben Gvir’s office to obtain police approval for organizing these raids on Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
In response, the Deputy Commander of the Jerusalem District confirmed that the police have approved the organization of these incursions, funded by the Israeli government.
For its part, the police, which fall under Itamar Ben Gvir’s ministry, stated that “these visits will be organized within the framework of the usual visits conducted in the Temple Mount area, in accordance with the site’s existing visitation rules.”
Plans to Build a Synagogue
On the same day, the extremist Ben Gvir stirred controversy by questioning the status quo in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, expressing his support for building a synagogue on the site, as he stated in an interview with “Israel Army Radio.”
Ben Gvir explained, “If I could do whatever I wanted, I would plant the Israeli flag on the site,” referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard. When asked if he would build a synagogue there if he could, the right-wing minister responded, “Yes, absolutely.”
This marks the first time Ben Gvir has spoken of establishing a synagogue within Al-Aqsa Mosque, after repeatedly calling in recent months for allowing Jews to pray inside the mosque, in violation of the current status quo.
Ben Gvir’s latest comments coincided with an increase in settlers performing prayers during their raids on Al-Aqsa, under the protection of the Israeli police, which falls under his authority.
Since taking office in December 2022, Ben Gvir has repeatedly stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite widespread Islamic, Arab, and international criticism.
Palestinians assert that Israel is intensifying its efforts to Judaize occupied East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, erasing its Arab and Islamic identity.
Palestinians remain steadfast in their claim to East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international legal decisions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967, nor its annexation in 1981.
