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Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, breaching the site’s decades-old status quo as he marked a Jewish day of mourning.
The visit coincided with Tisha B’Av, the Jewish fasting day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which is being observed from Wednesday night through Thursday this year.
AFP footage showed Ben Gvir and hundreds of fellow worshippers at the Al-Aqsa compound, including Jewish settlers who lined up from the early morning hours to enter the site, where many performed prayers.
“Look at what’s happening here: Jews are praying and feel that they are the rightful owners here,” Ben Gvir said in a video filmed at the compound and posted on his Telegram channel.
