Israeli settlers mark Passover by storming Al-Aqsa

By Anees Bargouthi

JERUSALEM

Scores of extremist Jewish settlers on Tuesday forced their way into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound where they performed Talmudic rituals, according to a Palestinian official.

"Roughly 130 extremist settlers -- backed by Israeli police -- stormed the mosque compound through the Al-Mugharbeh Gate," Al-Aqsa Mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Qiswani told Anadolu Agency.

"They toured the area, passing by the Dome of the Rock Mosque, and performed Talmudic rituals before leaving through the Al-Rahemah gate," he said.

According to al-Qiswani, Israeli police assaulted the mosque’s Palestinian guards when they attempted to prevent the extremists from performing their rituals.

Settler groups have called on followers to enter the Al-Aqsa compound in force during the Jewish Passover holiday, which this year runs from April 22 to 30.

"Over the last three days, around 500 Jewish settlers, backed by Israeli police, have forced their way into Al-Aqsa," Firas al-Dib, a spokesman for the Waqf (religious endowments) authority told Anadolu Agency.

"Muslim worshipers and guards, however, have stood up to their attempts to storm the mosque compound," he added.

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.

Some extremist Jewish groups have called for the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque so that a Jewish temple might be built in its place.

In September 2000, a visit to the flashpoint religious site 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.