Jerusalem: Nine Israeli occupiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday after assaulting two of its guards, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate reported. "Nine occupiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after assaulting two of its guards, and they were carrying a bread offering," the governorate said, referencing the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

According to Anadolu Agency, the governorate added that the occupiers forcibly entered the mosque and managed to reach the Dome of the Rock courtyard. It described the move as a dangerous precedent, the first of its kind since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967. The governorate stated that the incursion coincided with incitement by extremist Temple Mount groups on the occasion of Shavuot and was part of ongoing attempts to impose a new reality within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Separately, the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem noted in a statement that occupiers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Al-Ghawanimah Gate after assaulting two mosque guards. They reached the Dome of the Rock courtyard carrying a "plant offering." The Waqf considered the incident an escalation and an attempt to impose religious rituals within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

More than 70,000 Palestinians performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque despite Israeli restrictions, according to a statement from the Waqf Department. Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed occupiers to enter the mosque daily during two periods-morning and afternoon prayers-except on Fridays and Saturdays.

Palestinians argue that Israel is intensifying efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity. They regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognize Israel's occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1980.