On Sunday, hundreds of settlers entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the fourth day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, under heavy protection from Israeli forces.
According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), over 735 settlers stormed the mosque, performing Talmudic rituals. One settler sounded the shofar, while others performed what is known as “epic prostration” within the courtyards of the mosque.
Groups of settlers also gathered near the Cotton Merchants’ Gate, a main northern entrance to the mosque, where they conducted further religious rituals.
In a related incident, settlers established a new outpost on Palestinian land east of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
Farid Burqan, head of the Birin village council, stated that armed settlers set up a caravan and a large tent covering over 300 square meters, raising Israeli flags on the land in the Khillet Al-Furn area, part of the Birin village.
Burqan expressed concern that the move might be a precursor to seizing the area for agricultural settlements. He reported that settlers, under military protection, moved large numbers of sheep to the tent, suggesting a plan to transform the land into farms for settlers.
This development comes amid continuous efforts by settlers and Israeli forces to control vast areas of Palestinian land, expand settlements, and establish new outposts. The expansion includes the construction of a network of roads connecting outposts with existing settlements.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, settlers have established 29 new outposts since October 7, 2023, with most concentrated in Hebron (8 outposts), Ramallah (6), and Bethlehem (4), alongside three in Nablus. Additionally, seven roads have been built to facilitate settlers’ movements and link the new outposts with existing settlements.
During the same period, 11 outposts were legalized by Israeli authorities, converting them into new neighborhoods of existing settlements, while nine more are undergoing legalization procedures.
Separately, settlers, escorted by Israeli forces, stormed the Solomon’s Pools area between the town of Al-Khader and the village of Artas in southern Bethlehem. Samir Abu Sawy, a member of the Artas village council, reported that settlers gathered at the third pool and conducted Talmudic rituals in the area.
