300 Israelis storm Al-Aqsa complex on Jewish holiday

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

Hundreds of hardline Israelis stormed East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound and several were arrested during a Jewish religious festival on Sunday.

Around 300 Jews visited the flashpoint compound, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, who said seven were arrested for chanting or deviating from a route set by the police.

Jerusalem-based Palestinian activist group Wadi Hilweh Information Center posted pictures on social media of Jews praying outside the gates of the compound.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Worship inside the compound is only allowed for Muslims under a delicate balance of prayer and visiting rights known as the status quo, which Palestinian Muslims frequently accuse hardline Israeli groups and the government of flouting.

While Palestinians believe the status quo limits the number of Jewish visitors allowed at the mosque, Israeli police often allow entry to and escort large groups, especially during Jewish religious festivals.

The increased number of Jewish visitors on Sunday was because of the Tisha B'av festival, which marks the destruction of Jewish temples that most Jews believe were once located at the current-day site of the mosque.

A religious ruling given by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate in 1967 forbids Jews from setting foot on the site for religious reasons but hardline Jewish groups disagree and call for building a third Jewish temple, which fuels Palestinians fears about the threat of Al-Aqsa mosque being destroyed.

Rosenfeld said extra police forces had been deployed around the compound in Jerusalem's Old City during the festival.

In September 2000, a visit to the Al-Aqsa compound by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada," a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.