‘Dozens’ of settlers enter Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex

By Fatma Abu Sbitan

JERUSALEM

Dozens of Jewish settlers accompanied by Israeli security personnel forced their way into Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday, according to a local source.

"More than 100 extremist Israeli settlers broke into the holy mosque on two separate occasions," the source, preferring anonymity for security reasons, told Anadolu Agency.

Palestinian officials say they expect more settler incursions into the holy site during the eight-day Jewish Hanukkah holiday, which began Tuesday and runs until Dec. 20.

In late 2015, repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Jewish settlers and Israeli security personnel sparked a months-long spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Referred to by some as the "Third Intifada" or "Jerusalem Uprising", this wave of unrest -- which left 160 Palestinians and 26 Israelis dead -- tapered out early last year amid a massive Israeli security crackdown.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem -- in which the Al-Aqsa is located -- during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move which was never recognized by the international community.