NETANYAHU STORMS JERUSALEM’S AL-AQSA MOSQUE TO CELEBRATE JEWISH HANUKKAH HOLIDAY

Tue 16 December 2025:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday to celebrate the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.

In a statement, the Jerusalem Governorate denounced Netanyahu’s visit to the mosque’s Western Wall (Al-Buraq Wall) “a new provocative move.”

The Al-Buraq Wall, called by Jews as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, is a significant religious site for both Muslims and Jews and forms part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Netanyahu’s office shared photos of the premier, along with several officials, including US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, while visiting the Western Wall at the flashpoint site.

The eight-day Hanukkah holiday is marked from Dec. 14 to Dec. 22.

According to Palestinian authorities, at least 210 illegal Israeli settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex to mark the occasion since Monday.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

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 recognized by the international community.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem is Islam’s third holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian identity. It is administered by Jordan, but access to the site itself is controlled by Israeli soldiers. It is also considered an important site by Jews, who believe it to be the site of the First and Second Temples, the latter destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Earlier this year, an Al-generated video depicting the destruction of the mosque and construction of the “Third Temple” under the title “Next Year in Jerusalem” was published on the platforms.

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Regular target

Al-Aqsa has become a regular target of visits by right-wing Israeli politicians and Israeli settlers, who have stormed the compound on an almost weekly basis and performed religious rituals under the protection of Israeli forces.

Under the decades-old status quo maintained by Israeli authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound in occupied East Jerusalem during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Last August, right-wing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir caused outrage by saying he would build a Jewish synagogue at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to the Jews as the Temple Mount.

Once considered a fringe movement, the campaign to build a “Third Temple” on Al-Aqsa is growing in Israel, and many Palestinians see parallels with what has happened in Hebron, where the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, was partitioned.

Since taking office in December 2022, Ben-Gvir, as national security minister, has visited the holy site at least six times, drawing severe condemnation.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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