Illegal Israeli settlers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex amid tension

JERUSALEM

Scores of illegal Israeli settlers forced their way on Thursday into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.

Around 225 illegal settlers entered the site through Al-Mugharbah Gate, west of the mosque, under police protection, the state news agency Wafa reported.

The illegal settler incursion came amid rising tensions across the occupied West Bank as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which killed nearly 34,000 people since last October following a Hamas attack.

Israeli police forces stepped up their presence and imposed several restrictions on movement across Jerusalem’s Old City and around the mosque, Wafa said.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents Islam’s third-holiest site. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar