Full Breakdown
Ben Gvir Leads Controversial Sukkot Visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On Monday during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led a crowd of roughly 900 Israelis onto the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound—known to Jews as the Temple Mount—under police escort. The group sang and danced in the courtyards while Israeli forces sealed off surrounding streets and intersections.
Background & Context
Since 2003, Israeli police have permitted limited daily Israeli visits to the compound, barring Fridays and Saturdays. The authorities frequently impose restrictions on Palestinian worshippers, including limiting the number of attendees for Eid al-Fitr prayers to 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. The Sukkot visit occurred three years after the Oct. 7 attack, a reference point repeatedly used by Ben Gvir to frame his remarks.
Data & Statistics
- Approximately 900 Israelis entered the compound in the morning.
- Dozens of Palestinian shop, café and restaurant owners in the Old City’s Cotton Merchants Market were forced to close during the holiday.
- Israel expanded civilian gun-license eligibility from six localities in 2021 to 126 localities in 2026.
Official Statements & Responses
- Itamar Ben Gvir asserted Israeli sovereignty over the site, linking the visit to “total victory” over Hamas and to harsher prison conditions for security prisoners.
- Association for Civil Rights in Israel reported that Palestinian businesses were compelled to shut to accommodate Jewish prayers.
- Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that the incursion was “playing with fire” and could spark a “religious war.”
- Hamas political arm representative Harun Nasrudín condemned the “incursions by settlers” and labeled Ben Gvir “extremist” and “criminal,” calling for “firm and effective action” against what he described as a plan to “Judaize” Jerusalem.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We are the owners of the place in Al-Aqsa and in the prisons, and we have turned the lives of terrorist prisoners into hell,” — Itamar Ben-Gvir, national security minister
- “Hamas wanted to defeat us. They called it [the Hamas invasion] the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood,’” — Itamar Ben-Gvir, national security minister
Why It Matters
The visit underscores Israel’s tightening control over Jerusalem’s most contested holy site and highlights the government’s broader policy of expanding civilian armament and tightening prison regimes. The episode has heightened diplomatic sensitivities, with Palestinian leaders warning of broader religious conflict and Israeli officials framing the action as a celebration of perceived security gains.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources agree on the scale of the Israeli presence and the forced closure of Palestinian establishments, but no independent verification of the exact number of participants or the precise impact on local commerce is provided.
What’s Next
Israeli authorities have not announced any immediate policy changes regarding access to the Temple Mount, while Palestinian leaders have called for increased resistance to what they term “Judaization” efforts. The situation remains a flashpoint for future religious and political confrontations in Jerusalem.