Overview
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa compound Monday under heavy police guard, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf said, with Muslim worshippers still barred.
- Israeli police overseen by Ben-Gvir drafted a plan to let up to 150 people enter at a time, including Israeli settlers and Muslim worshippers, and the proposal still needs High Court approval.
- Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, and Jordan issued formal condemnations after Monday’s visit, calling it a breach of international law and of the site's long-standing status quo.
- Al-Aqsa has been closed to Muslim worshippers since February 28 under wartime rules tied to the Iran conflict, a policy Palestinians say is discriminatory given large holiday gatherings allowed elsewhere.
- Israel’s top court raised the Western Wall cap to 100 from 50 and ordered the government to defend its holy-site policy, sharpening a legal fight over access rules and the Waqf’s authority.