For the first time, a settler succeeded in bringing a goat into Al-Aqsa and praying there
An extremist settler succeeded, on Monday afternoon, in storming Al-Aqsa Mosque carrying a sacrifice (a small goat). He performed religious rituals that included prayer and prostrating himself on the ground inside the mosque's courtyards, in a dangerous and unprecedented incident.
This incident comes in the context of repeated attempts in recent years by extremist "Temple" groups, which have escalated their calls to offer sacrifices inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, particularly during the "main" Jewish Passover and the "second/little Passover." Two days ago, these groups called for these rituals to be performed in conjunction with the second Passover, a secondary holiday according to their beliefs.
According to the recording published by settler platforms, "nine settlers gathered on the street near Al-Ghawanmeh Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. One of them was carrying a pink bag containing a small goat prepared as a sacrificial offering. The settlers advanced one after the other toward Al-Ghawanmeh Gate, located in the northwest corner of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and gathered at its threshold, attempting to storm it.
The Jerusalemite Saeed Abu Nijmeh intervened, accompanied by Israeli police officers, in an attempt to stop them. However, one of the settlers managed to sneak into the mosque, remove the offering from the bag, and perform his religious rituals amid the shouts and singing of other settlers, who documented the event and posted it on their various platforms.
Abu Nijmeh was pushed and shouted at by the settlers, but he held his ground and prevented them from entering Al-Aqsa.
Employees of the Islamic Endowment Department and Jerusalemites quickly intervened, successfully preventing the settler from advancing into the mosque and slaughtering the sacrifice there. They forcibly removed him from Al-Aqsa and closed the door behind him.
Remarkably, the incursion did not occur through the Dung Gate, which is designated for settler incursions, nor during the incursion periods designated by the occupation police. Instead, the chosen entrance was the Al- Ghawanmeh Gate, one of the least used gates.
Extremist Temple groups believe that offering the Passover sacrifice inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and shedding its blood will, according to their beliefs, hasten the coming of the "divine savior," achieve salvation, and control over the Temple Mount. This poses a significant threat to the status quo at the mosque. It is worth noting that the "Second Passover" falls approximately one month after the main “Passover" and is an alternative opportunity to offer sacrifices for those who missed the first holiday due to "impurity" or distance from the temple, according to extremist Jewish beliefs.
