September 22, 2025 | 08:33 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dozens of illegal Jewish settlers from Israel entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, September 21, 2025. According to Anadolu, they reportedly held prayers for the late American political activist, Charlie Kirk, who was killed earlier this month.
The Hebrew-language site Srugim reported that the ritual was led by Yehuda Glick, a right-wing extremist rabbi and former Knesset member known for advocating for greater Jewish access to the site.
Kirk, a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel, was shot in the neck on September 10 while giving a speech at Utah Valley University.
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, stated that the illegal settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in groups. In preparation for the Jewish New Year, they performed rituals, sang, and danced in the courtyard.
Wafa also noted that right-wing settler groups are actively encouraging more settlers to visit the site during the holiday period. As a result, the Israeli military announced on Saturday that it would deploy reinforcements to the occupied West Bank.
Tensions at Al-Aqsa and International Law
The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Directorate reports that violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque have significantly increased since the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir was appointed as Israel's national security minister in late 2022.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, believing it to be the location of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In 1980, Israel annexed the entire city, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
Palestinians view these settler actions as part of a broader effort to "Judaize" East Jerusalem and erase its Arab and Islamic identity. They maintain that East Jerusalem should be the future capital of a Palestinian state, in accordance with international resolutions rejecting Israel's 1967 occupation and 1980 annexation.
Since October 2023, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that at least 1,042 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 others injured by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank. In a landmark ruling last July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory to be illegal and called for the removal of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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