Israeli Minister of Negev and Galilee Affairs Yitzhak Wasserlauf has stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
Wednesday’s raid comes two days before Israel marks the anniversary of its occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, according to the Hebrew calendar.
Wasserlauf is a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Both Ben-Gvir and Wasserlauf had previously forced their way into the Al-Aqsa compound, drawing a wave of condemnations from Palestinians and Arab countries.
Far-right Israeli organisations have called on supporters to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark Israel’s occupation of the city. They also plan a flag march scheduled on Thursday evening in East Jerusalem.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.
Ongoing settler violence
Meanwhile, a Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli fire during an attack by occupiers on the towns of Sinjil and Jiljilya in the occupied central West Bank, according to health authorities and local sources.
The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Yousef Ali Yousef Kaabneh, 16, was killed by Israeli fire near Jiljilya, north of Ramallah.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams treated a child in critical condition with a chest wound during an occupier attack on Sinjil and Jiljilya.
The organisation said four other people were injured during simultaneous raids in the two towns, including two wounded by gunfire and two injured after being beaten.
Witnesses said dozens of armed occupiers, protected by army forces, attacked Palestinian homes west of Sinjil and Jiljilya.
Residents confronted the occupiers, who stole about 700 sheep and agricultural equipment during the attack, witnesses said.
Since October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers have killed 1,155 Palestinians, wounded about 11,750 and led to the arrest of nearly 22,000, according to official Palestinian figures.
