AL-QUDS
Dozens of Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers on Tuesday stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem), according to an Islamic foundation.
"As many as 97 soldiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and wandered around the Dome of the Rock Mosque," the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage said in a statement.
"Extremist rabbi Yehuda Glick [chairman of the so-called Temple Mount Heritage Foundation] and 13 settlers also stormed the holy site through the Al-Magharbeh Gate under Israeli police protection," the foundation, an NGO devoted to safeguarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Israeli depredations, added.
Israeli police also arrested a Palestinian religious student from inside the mosque compound and took him to a detention center inside the Old City of Al-Quds, the foundation reported.
In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers, often accompanied by Israeli security forces, have stepped up their intrusions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, the world's third holiest site for Muslims.
The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.
Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by then opposition politician Ariel Sharon triggered what later became known as the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed and injured.
Israel occupied Al-Quds during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
By Anees Barghouthy
englishnews@aa.com.tr