JERUSALEM / ANKARA

A hardline Knesset member joined thousands of illegal Israeli settlers in storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, marking the fifth day of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

A statement by the Jerusalem governor’s office said thousands of illegal settlers visited the mosque courtyard and the ancient Bab Al-Rahma cemetery, where they performed Talmudic rituals.

The Bab al-Rahma is an ancient Muslim cemetery that has been an endowment property for more than 1,400 years. It contains numerous graves of notable companions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

According to the statement, Knesset member Zvi Sukkot, from the far-right Religious Zionism Party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, also forced his way into the flashpoint site and performed what is called “epic prostration.”

Ben-Gvir praised Sukkot's act at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and for changing the site’s status quo.

"I’m happy to see that also MK Zvi Sukkot, like many thousands, is prostrating himself and praying at the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque)," Ben-Gvir said.

Since 2003, Israel has allowed illegal settlers into the flashpoint compound almost on a daily basis, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "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.