Israeli right-wing activists carry national flags in Jerusalem's Old City during a flag march for Jerusalem Day on May 26, 2025, commemorating the Israeli army's 1967 occupation of the city's eastern sector during the war. AFP
In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Ben-Gvir’s incursion into the mosque compound, accompanied by large groups of extremist settlers, marks a continuation of “Israeli escalatory practices.”
Cairo warned of the “grave consequences of such reckless behavior on the security and stability of the region,” and called for an immediate halt to violations at the holy site.
The ministry also urged the international community to confront what it described as serious Israeli violations and to reaffirm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people—chief among them, the right to establish an independent state.
The incident took place on Monday when Ben-Gvir, a far-right figure in Israel’s ruling coalition, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under heavy Israeli police protection.
The visit coincided with heightened settler violence in Jerusalem’s Old City ahead of the annual “Jerusalem Day” march, commemorating Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem.
As Ben-Gvir entered the mosque area, groups of young Israeli settlers marched through Palestinian neighbourhoods chanting “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn,” according to eyewitness accounts.
In a separate incident on the same day, protesters—including an Israeli member of parliament—stormed a compound in East Jerusalem belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The Jerusalem Governorate described the day’s events as part of a “systematic provocative agenda” intended to intimidate Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents.
In a statement carried by the Palestinian News Agency, the governorate said the annual march is regularly accompanied by verbal and physical attacks on Muslims and Christians, with Israeli police protecting the settlers carrying out the provocations.
Egypt, a longstanding mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a key player alongside Qatar and the US in ongoing ceasefire efforts in Gaza, reiterated its opposition to any attempts to alter the historical and legal status of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.
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