Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, Occupation Forces Arrest 9 Palestinians

Israeli settlers stormed Al Aqsa Mosque Today, Tuesday, under the protection of the occupation police, while 9 Palestinians from the West Bank were arrested.

Dozens of settlers performed Talmudic prayers in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa and carried out provocative tours in them.

Located in occupied Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims. It was also Islam’s first Qibla -the direction towards which Muslims must turn to pray- before that was changed to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.

Settlers backed by Israeli forces regularly break into Al-Aqsa Mosque to tour the Dome of the Rock, a shrine built in the 7th century by the Umayyad caliphate on Moriah Mount, and perform prayers on the site.

Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, which manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque, has repeatedly described the settlers’ tours as “provocative” and said that Palestinian worshipers and guards at Al-Aqsa feel uncomfortable with the presence of Israeli police and settlers touring the Muslim holy site.

In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel captured East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the Six-Day War in 1967.