Dozens of Israeli settlers, escorted by troops, have intruded into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of the occupied East al-Quds.
Faraan: The Palestinian Information Center cited local sources as saying that the settlers toured the mosque’s courtyards before they performed Jewish rituals on Monday morning.
The intrusion came amid Israeli efforts to impose control over the al-Aqsa Mosque.
While the Israeli forces provide protection for setters during their incursions of the mosque, they arrest Palestinian sit-inners at al-Aqsa and ban them from accessing the mosque.
Israel occupied the Old City of al-Quds during the Six-Day War of 1967. After the end of hostilities, the regime allowed the ‘Awqaf’ to retain authority over the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, or the ‘Haram al-Sharif.’
Israel lays claim to the entire al-Quds, but the international community views the city’s eastern sector as occupied territory and Palestinians consider it the capital of their future state.
In May, repeated acts of violence against Palestinian worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque led to an 11-day war between Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli regime. Israel killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, during the conflict.
