‘Serious Provocation’: Settlers Hold Wedding Ceremony at Al-Aqsa Compound
Israeli authorities allowed a group of Jewish settlers to conduct a wedding engagement ceremony within the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds’s occupied Old City on Monday.
The event, which was held under the protection of the Israeli military, drew sharp criticism from Palestinian officials, who viewed it as an intentional affront to Muslim religious sentiment.
The Palestinian Authority strongly condemned the gathering, saying it marked a shift in how the sacred site is being treated by Israeli authorities. The al-Quds governorate likened the use of the Al-Aqsa courtyards for settler celebrations to turning the revered compound into “a public hall for extremist settlers’ events.”
In a statement, the governorate described the ceremony as “a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, a serious provocation of the feelings of Muslims, and a deliberate attempt to impose a new reality that erases the Islamic identity of the site and paves the way for its division temporally and spatially.”
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According to Wafa news agency, settlers entered the compound accompanied by Israeli police, who blocked Palestinian worshippers from approaching the group during the ceremony.
Palestinian authorities note that the repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa, including events such as this one, reflect broader Israeli efforts to assert control over the Muslim place of worship. The Jerusalem Governorate noted that such actions stand in direct opposition to international law and a 2016 UNESCO resolution, which affirms the mosque’s status as a site of Islamic heritage and calls for its protection.
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Al-Aqsa Mosque, located within a 35-acre compound known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif is the third holiest site in Islam. Since Israel's occupation of East al-Quds in 1967, the compound has been administered by the Islamic Waqf, a religious trust under Jordanian authority.
However, the long-standing status quo has been increasingly violated by far-right Israeli activists and settler groups, who regularly enter the site under police escort. In recent years, these visits have included participation by Israeli cabinet and Knesset members.
Source: Agencies
