JERUSALEM
Scores of Jewish settlers on Tuesday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to a Palestinian official.
“Some 260 Jewish extremists stormed the compound this morning,” Firas al-Dib, a spokesman for Jerusalem's Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu Agency.
He said the settlers broke into the compound through Al-Mugharbah gate under the protection of Israeli police.
Since Friday, hundreds of Israeli settlers forced their way into the compound as part of celebrations of the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 7.
Passover, which commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt during the time of Prophet Moses, is considered one of the most important holidays on the Jewish religious calendar.
Last year, more than 1,500 settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa compound during Passover.
For Muslims, the 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.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.
