Muslim-majority countries have condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem by thousands of Israeli settlers and far-right activists.

More than 4,200 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa compound to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection.

Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed strict restrictions at the mosque’s gates, reportedly assualted several Palestinian worshippers and prevented them from entering.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates condemned what they described as the incursions by settlers.

The mosque is governed by a decades-old arrangement recognising its Islamic character and placing authority over access and worship in Muslim hands. Under this understanding, Jewish visitors are permitted to enter but not to pray.

But Israel has increasingly violated this arrangement by allowing raids into the compound and prayer by ultranationalist Israelis, often with the backing of senior Israeli ministers like Ben-Gvir.

“Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem”

The ministers said the it took place under the protection of Israeli police and included the raising of Israeli flags inside the compound, the erection of two police tents and other actions they described as provocative.

“These provocative actions fuel hatred and extremism, and obstruct efforts to advance a just and lasting peace on the basis of the two-State solution,” the statement said.

The ministers added that “Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites” and condemned what they described as incitement by Israeli ministers and extremist groups encouraging further incursions.

The condemnation comes as violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank continues to escalate.

On Friday, armed settlers killed four Palestinians in the village of Tel, near Nablus. During the violence, a Palestinian reportedly seized a weapon from one of the settlers and opened fire, killing two settlers.

Israeli human rights organisations, including B’Tselem, Rabbis for Human Rights and Adalah, have urged the international community to intervene, warning of what they described as the risk of a “pogrom” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.