AL-QUDS
By Anees Barghouthi
Around 75 extremist Jewish settlers led by radical rabbi Yehuda Glick on Sunday stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of the Israeli police, a Palestinian guard of the holy complex said.
“The settlers stormed the complex through Al-Magharbeh Gate, passing through the Qibali and Marawani mosques, as well as Al-Rahmeh and Qatanin gates," guard Naser Qous told Anadolu Agency.
“Scuffles between the [Jewish] extremists and Palestinian students took place during the storming,” he added, noting that the setters later left through Al-Rahmeh Gate.
Qous said that Glick, chairman of the so-called Temple Mount Heritage Foundation, shouted "racist chants" against Muslims as he told the Israeli police: "Keep these vandals away!" which lad to scuffles between the settlers and the Muslim worshippers inside the holy compound.
The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, in a statement, denounced the intrusion, saying such acts constitute "a violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque complex that aims to intimidate and scare the Palestinians.”
“The Israeli police also tightened its security procedures on Muslim students within Al-Aqsa Mosque complex,” the foundation, which seeks to safeguard the iconic mosque from Israeli violations, said in its statement.
In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers – often accompanied by Israeli security forces – have repeatedly entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site.
Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
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.
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