More than 200 Israeli settlers on Thursday stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosquecompound in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem said in a statement that 215settlers guarded by Israeli police raided Haram al-Sharif from theAl-Maqaribe (Moroccans) Gate, southwest of the mosque.
The settlers left the area after wandering around the courtyards of themosque.
Settlers storm the complex every day, except for the weekend, Friday forMuslims, and Saturday for Israelis.
Israeli police began allowing the settler incursions in 2003, despiterepeated condemnations by the Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem.
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Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call thearea the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples inancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move neverrecognized by the international community. – Anadolu Agency
