Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers assaulted Palestinian worshippers and residents near the Al‑Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Friday, while Israeli occupation forces abducted nine Palestinians from the Old City amid heightened tensions following a provocative invasion of the mosque compound by far‑right Israeli minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir.
Local sources said colonizers attacked worshippers in the al‑Wad neighborhood adjacent to the mosque shortly before Friday prayers, beating them with fists and kicking several residents.
When Palestinians attempted to defend themselves, Israeli police assaulted them and abducted nine individuals, transferring them to the al‑Qashla interrogation center. Witnesses added that colonizers also attacked elderly Palestinians in several locations around the Old City.
Earlier in the day, extremist colonizers held a provocative gathering near Bab al‑Asbat, playing musical instruments and dancing near the mosque to mark the anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem. Residents described the event as a deliberate provocation that disregarded the sanctity of the site.
At the same time, Israeli police closed Bab al‑Asbat and Bab al‑Malek Faisal, preventing Palestinian worshippers—particularly young men—from entering the mosque for Friday prayers.
Additional restrictions were imposed at other gates, causing long delays and obstructing access to the compound.
The escalation followed Thursday’s invasion of the Al‑Aqsa Mosque courtyards by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir, accompanied by 1,336 colonizers under heavy police protection.
Ben‑Gvir waved an Israeli flag inside the compound and issued hostile statements asserting that “sovereignty and governance have been restored to the Temple Mount,” using the Israeli term for the Al‑Aqsa Mosque, and declaring that “all of Jerusalem belongs to us.”
Ben‑Gvir, along with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and thousands of colonizers, also marched through the Old City in the annual “Flag March,” during which participants chanted racist slogans—including “Death to Arabs”—and carried out widespread assaults on Palestinian residents.
Invasions and assaults included violations inside the mosque compound, such as raising Israeli flags and performing what colonizers call “epic prostration,” all under the protection of Israeli forces.
Friday’s events reflect a continued escalation in Israeli attacks on Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, particularly around the Al‑Aqsa Mosque, where colonizers and Israeli forces have intensified coordinated actions aimed at asserting control over the holy site and surrounding neighborhoods.
