ANKARA

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday.

In a brief statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem said that Ben-Gvir forced his way into the flashpoint site under the protection of the Israeli police.

The latest intrusion into the Al-Aqsa complex was the eighth by the far-right minister since he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in 2022.

Ben-Gvir has repeatedly entered the compound despite widespread condemnations from Arab and Islamic nations. Such intrusions by senior Israeli officials typically require prior approval from Netanyahu’s office.

His most recent tour occurred on May 27, when he entered the compound alongside members of the Israeli government and Knesset, as well as more than 2,000 illegal Israeli settlers, to mark Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Wednesday’s raid came one day after the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans in those countries.

Israel began allowing Israeli settlers to enter the Al-Aqsa compound in 2003, despite ongoing objections from the Islamic Endowment Department.

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 during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.