Israeli forces briefly closed the King Faisal Gate, one of the entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, during military drills, Palestinian officials have said.
The Palestinian official news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported on Tuesday that Israeli forces closed all entrances to the mosque compound while carrying out military exercises.
In a statement, the Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces closed the King Faisal Gate for about 30 minutes during the drills inside the mosque compound.
The governorate said Israeli forces also tightened restrictions at the compound's other gates, disrupting the movement of worshippers entering and leaving the site during the closure.
The latest measure came amid escalating Israeli actions at the holy site.
According to a report released on Sunday by the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Israeli forces carried out 26 incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in June.
Illegal occupation
Palestinians say Israel is intensifying efforts to Judaise occupied East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.
The Palestinians regard occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, in line with international resolutions that do not recognise Israel's occupation of the city in 1967 or its subsequent annexation in 1980.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly declared Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem null and void, and no country in the world recognises it as part of Israeli sovereign territory.
Türkiye's UN envoy said earlier this year that Israel’s unilateral measures are aimed at entrenching its unlawful presence in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli authorities nonetheless continue to expand settlement construction and tighten control over the city, moves the Palestinians and much of the international community view as an attempt to entrench the occupation and pre-empt any future two-state settlement.
