JERUSALEM, July 21, 2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate warned of escalating plans by extremist “Temple” groups to carry out the largest mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the so-called anniversary of the destruction of the alleged Temple (Tisha B’Av), which falls next Thursday.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the governorate said that what is taking place is no longer merely an activity organized by extremist groups, but has become part of an official Israeli policy aimed at imposing new realities inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and undermining the existing historical and legal status quo, in preparation for consolidating a project of temporal and spatial division.
The governorate stressed that field and political developments monitored in recent days indicate the existence of a broad mobilization campaign led by “Temple” groups, aimed at setting a new record for the number of intruders by exceeding last year’s figure of 4,000 intruders in a single day, with the announced goal of reaching 5,000 intruders. The groups have been working gradually toward this objective since 2021.
It noted that incursions linked to this occasion have witnessed a steady rise in recent years, with the number of intruders reaching around 2,200 in 2022 and 2023, rising to 3,000 in 2024, and then to 4,000 in 2025, in a clear indication of a gradual escalation plan aimed at establishing this occasion as the largest annual season for incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The governorate added that the first signs of this year’s mobilization emerged with the beginning of the Hebrew month of Av, as 677 colonists stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on July 15, one of the highest numbers of intruders recorded on the occasion of the first day of the Hebrew month of Av, reflecting the scale of mobilization led by “Temple” groups ahead of the main incursion day.
It pointed out that this mobilization was accompanied by political and official escalation, represented by the holding of a conference inside the Israeli Knesset titled “A Decade of Positive Change on the Temple Mount and 59 Years of Its ‘Redemption’” with the participation of three ministers and seven Knesset members.
During the conference, calls were openly made to alter the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, allow the full performance of prayers and Talmudic rituals inside it, and restrict Muslim access to the site.
The governorate said this represents clear political recognition of the adoption of a project to impose Israeli sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque, in flagrant violation of international law and United Nations and UNESCO resolutions, which affirm that Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunums, is an exclusively Islamic place of worship.
The Jerusalem Governorate also referred to calls issued by “Temple” groups to organize the so-called “Jerusalem Sovereignty March” tomorrow evening, Wednesday, on the eve of the planned incursion.
The march is scheduled to begin from the so-called “Independence Garden,” built over the historic Mamilla Muslim Cemetery, and proceed around the gates of the Old City toward Al-Buraq Plaza, in an attempt to impose new colonial displays of sovereignty around Al-Aqsa Mosque and link them to the annual incursion season.
The Jerusalem Governorate stressed that Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its full area of 144 dunums, is exclusively Islamic, and that all Israeli measures aimed at changing its identity, character, or historical and legal status are null and void.
T.R.
