More than 65,000 illegal Israeli settlers have entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem in 2025, marking a 22 percent increase compared with the previous year, according to a report.
The figures were published in the International Jerusalem Foundation's annual report, prepared using data from the Islamic Waqf Administration in the occupied East Jerusalem.
According to the report, 65,364 individuals entered the site over the year, while visits involving Israeli political figures also rose significantly.
The foundation noted that Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was among the politicians storming the compound along with several members of parliament.
The number of such political incursions increased from nine incidents in 2024 to 20 in 2025.
The report said Israeli authorities introduced new measures affecting access to the site, including extending visiting hours, increasing group sizes from 120 to 200 participants, and shortening intervals between entries.
These steps were described as attempts to alter the longstanding status quo at the holy compound and impose a new reality there.
Revocation of identity
Beyond developments at Al-Aqsa, the report said that Israeli policies involving the revocation of residency and identity documents in Jerusalem continued, recalling that 14,929 Palestinians had lost their identification status between 1967 and 2024.
It also highlighted education-related pressures, noting a shortage of about 1,500 classrooms in occupied East Jerusalem and confirming that roughly 27 percent of Palestinian students aged 6 to 17 were enrolled in the Israeli curriculum.
The foundation warned that the current period represents a turning point in what it characterised as efforts targeting Jerusalem’s identity, citing what it described as intensified “Judaisation” policies.
It added that approximately 77 percent of families in the occupied East Jerusalem live below the poverty line.
The report further reflected Palestinian views that Israel is accelerating measures aimed at reshaping occupied East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa compound, and erasing the city’s Arab and Islamic character.
Palestinians, referencing international resolutions that do not recognise Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its 1980 annexation, continue to regard East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state.
Israeli data, meanwhile, indicated a higher figure, stating that 76,448 “Jewish visitors” entered the compound in 2025, representing a 31 percent increase compared with the previous year.
