JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL 

Scores of illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday and held prayers for US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed earlier this month.

The Hebrew-language site Srugim reported that the ritual was led by far-right Rabbi and former Knesset member Yehuda Glick, a prominent advocate of expanding Jewish access to the site.

Kirk, a conservative activist known for supporting US President Donald Trump and Israel, was fatally shot in the neck while delivering a speech at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said illegal settlers entered the mosque in groups, performing rituals, singing and dancing inside the courtyards as preparations for the Jewish New Year gathered pace.

Wafa added that right-wing settler groups are mobilizing to bring larger numbers of illegal settlers into the flashpoint site during the holiday period.

On Saturday, the Israeli army said it would send reinforcements to the occupied West Bank amid heightened alert ahead of the holidays.

According to Jerusalem’s Islamic Endowments Directorate, violations at Al-Aqsa have escalated sharply since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir became Israel’s national security minister in late 2022.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Palestinians see the settler incursions into Al-Aqsa as part of efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem and erase its Arab and Islamic identity. They insist East Jerusalem is the capital of a future Palestinian state, in line with international resolutions rejecting Israel’s 1967 occupation and its 1980 annexation of the city.

Since October 2023, at least 1,042 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.