13 Jewish settlers detained for smuggling goats into Al-Aqsa compound for religious ritual

Numerous Jewish settlers, escorted by Israeli police, forcibly entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Monday.

Simultaneously, heavily armed soldiers tightened security measures at the gates leading to the Old City, in anticipation of extremist calls for sacrificial rituals during the Jewish Passover.

Reportedly, approximately 172 settlers accessed the mosque through the Mughariba Gate, engaging in Talmudic rites on the premises.

Groups associated with the Temple Movement urged followers to stage large-scale incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the eve of the Jewish Passover, aiming to perform the sacrificial ritual on the twenty-third of the month.

Over recent years, these groups have increasingly conducted religious practices within the compound, including the sounding of the trumpet, presenting plant offerings, and conducting prayers, with the sacrifice considered the pinnacle of these activities aimed at establishing the "Temple Mount" on the mosque's site.

This year, the "Returning to the Temple Mount" group offered financial incentives, with rewards of up to 50,000 shekels for successful implementation of the slaughter within the Al-Aqsa compound.

Israeli authorities detained 13 settlers attempting to smuggle goats into the compound, including one hidden in a baby carriage and another concealed in a shopping bag.

Israeli police stressed the importance of not supporting extremist elements attempting to violate law and order.

Although the Returning to the Temple Mount group submits an annual request for the ritual, authorities consistently deny it due to concerns about altering the religious site's status quo and provoking regional tensions.

Similar incidents occurred last year before Passover, leading to clashes between Jewish settlers and Muslim worshippers at the holy site.

Israeli politician Yitzhak Pindrus recently encouraged Jews to perform the sacrifice and consume it within the Old City on the same night.