Ben Gavir from Al-Aqsa Mosque: We are gradually changing reality, and the plan to establish the temple is proceeding "step by step"
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday afternoon, and performed prayers while escorted by a rabbi.
In a concerning display of the Israeli government's attempts to fully control the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the lead-up to major Jewish holidays, Ben-Gvir was observed speaking with Rabbi Elisha Wolfson, head of the Temple Mount Yeshiva, who joined him during the incursion. Ben-Gvir confirmed the existence of a gradual plan to introduce Talmudic rituals and facilitate the building of the so-called temple.
Ben-Gvir compared his own actions at Al-Aqsa when he was 14, during a time when intruders were stopped from praying or even whispering prayers and were arrested, to the current scenario where public prayers, prostrations, and chants occur in the mosque's courtyards under Israeli police protection. He was also seen holding the "religious texts" that have now become acceptable for settlers at Al-Aqsa.
Ben-Gvir clearly accepted the rabbi's demands, which included introducing the shofar (ram's horn), wearing tefillin, and allowing prayer on the Saturdays, all of which ultimately aim to facilitate the construction of the Temple and altar (Beit HaMikdash).
Ben-Gvir reassured the settlers that these radical changes would be introduced gradually, using the phrase "step by step," and would involve implementing additional rituals and modifications within the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
These statements on the ground align with official demands from Simcha Rotman, head of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. They call for the public authorization of blowing the shofar and for opening the Al-Aqsa Mosque to settler visits on Saturdays. This indicates a forthcoming escalation aimed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming Jewish holidays in two weeks—Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
19 Incursions since 2023: Ben-Gvir continues to implement changes at Al-Aqsa
Ben-Gvir has continued to repeatedly storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque since assuming his position in early 2023. This marks his 19th incursion, according to documentation by the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, as follows:
• 3 incursions during 2023
• 4 incursions during 2024
• 6 incursions during 2025
• 6 incursions during 2026 (One in January, and twice during April, one of which was during the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the war, in addition to an incursion in May during the so-called "Jerusalem Day"/the anniversary of the occupation of the eastern part of the city, and an incursion in July during the so-called "anniversary of the destruction of the Temple".
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that since Ben-Gvir took office, he has introduced significant and cumulative changes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. These alterations, praised as major achievements and an unprecedented shift by groups supporting the building of the alleged Temple, have led to an increased presence of settlers and their religious practices within the mosque. Over time, this has turned the mosque into a space where prayers, chants, singing, and prostrations occur openly, now protected by the occupation police, despite previously being banned or suppressed.
The key changes and violations that have become entrenched in recent years include:
- In August 2024: Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced his support for the establishment of a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Since then, the eastern area of the Mosque has become a site where Jewish prayers are performed almost daily.
- In June 2025, prompted by Ben-Gvir, Jewish prayers were loudly performed collectively across the Al-Aqsa Mosque, marking an unprecedented scene in its courtyards.
- In January 2026, Israeli authorities allowed the entry and distribution of written Jewish religious texts within the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time. These included prayers and teachings on the rituals settlers performed during incursions, with Ben-Gvir's approval.
- In April 2026, extremist groups controlling the Temple Mount announced they would release expanded versions of these texts for use within the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This development is seen as an escalation of the organized rituals carried out during their incursions.
- In May 2026, Ben-Gvir raised the Israeli flag at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during a raid on 'Jerusalem Day,' and made statements asserting Israeli 'sovereignty' over the site. Extremist groups on the Temple Mount viewed this action as a shift in official policy concerning flag-raising within the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
- In July 2026, Jewish rituals and observances took place in the eastern part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the "commemoration of the destruction of the Temple," amid growing calls from Temple Mount groups for increased rituals within the mosque.
- In August 2026, Israeli authorities allowed Jewish religious books ("sidur") to be brought into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, marking a continued effort to expand Jewish religious practices within the area.
- In August 2026, Israeli police permitted a group of settlers to enter the compound with religious prayer books as part of a pilot program aimed at broadening permissions for such practices during incursions.
This sequence illustrates a gradual progression in altering the situation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, from permitting individual and group prayers, prostration, and chanting, to bringing in religious texts and books, raising the Israeli flag, and ultimately requesting the addition of the shofar and tefillin, as well as permitting prayers on Saturday. Ben-Gvir himself acknowledges this process as occurring “step by step.”
