Israeli occupation forces intensified restrictions today in the town of Silwan, setting up new checkpoints while protecting settler raids into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Footage shared by Palestinian platforms captured settlers storming Al-Aqsa, performing provocative dances and songs under heavy military guard, a spectacle that has become even more frequent during the Jewish Passover.

The Islamic Waqf has repeatedly warned of the dangerous escalation at Al-Aqsa, documenting tens of thousands of settler intrusions in just a few days. Meanwhile, the occupation’s latest measures in Silwan—south of Al-Aqsa—follow an incursion into the town’s Bustan neighbourhood, tightening a campaign of harassment that has plagued residents for years.

Silwan, often called the "Guardian of Jerusalem," holds a history stretching back over 5,000 years, yet today it faces relentless attempts at Judaization. With nearly half its neighbourhoods threatened by demolition orders, its Palestinian residents live under constant threat of erasure and forced displacement, as the occupation seeks to rewrite the ancient story of Jerusalem.