AA | Mon 08 February 2021:
Dozens of Israeli settlers on Monday stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied East Jerusalem, according to an official statement.
The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf (religious endowments) said that 47 settlers backed by police forced their way into the site this morning through Al-Mugharbah gate.
The agency expected more settlers to converge on the complex later in the day.
On Sunday, 106 Israeli settlers broke into the holy site under police protection.
Israeli authorities allow settler incursions to the compound since 2003, despite repeated objections and warnings by the Palestinian religious authorities as the visits provoke worshippers of the mosque.
The area on which Al-Aqsa is built is referred to as Temple Mount by the Jews. It is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a flashpoint issue, with Palestinians fearing Israel may one day seek to assert more control over the site.
It is located in east Jerusalem, which was annexed in 1980 by Israeli forces under the claim that the city serves as the capital of the Jewish state, a move never recognized by the international community. It is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina and is the most sacred site in Judaism. Jews are allowed on the premises to visit but not to pray, to avoid provoking tensions.
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.
AA | File Photo
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