Scores of Zionist Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa amid Tension
"Roughly 59 extremists, 80 Jewish students and 3 Israeli intelligence agents stormed the Al-Aqsa compound today," Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Religious Endowments Authority, a Jordan-run agency tasked with overseeing the city's Muslim and Christian sites, said in a statement.
The move came a few hours after Israeli police reopened the holy site after a one-day closure.
In a related development, settler groups called for large-scale settler incursions into the flashpoint site on Thursday to protest the opening of the mosque’s Al-Rahma Gate, located adjacent to the eastern wall of the Old City.
On Tuesday, Israeli police shut the Al-Aqsa compound on claims of an arson attack on an Israeli police station near the site, triggering clashes with angry Palestinians.
Around 16 Palestinians were injured in the violence, according to Jerusalem’s Religious Endowments Authority.
Israeli police said its forces had arrested 10 Palestinians, including two minors, for allegedly setting the fire.
Tension has mounted in Jerusalem since last month, when Israeli police briefly sealed the Al-Aqsa compound’s Al-Rahma Gate, sparking angry Palestinian demonstrations.
In the weeks since, the Israeli authorities have banned scores of Palestinians -- including religious officials -- from entering the Al-Aqsa, which for Muslims represents the world’s third holiest site.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the 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.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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