Hundreds of Israelis Escorted by Military Forces Enter Al-Aqsa Compound

Rasa - Hundreds of far-right religious Israelis entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday amid the tense situation in the highly-contested mosque.

News ID: 431386

Date: 01 August 2017 - 23:13

RNA - The Israelis entered the al-Aqsa mosque premises on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’av, Ma'an reported.

Islamic Endowment (Waqf) spokesman Firas al-Dibs said that 870 Israeli Jews had entered the compound in large groups under heavy military protection between 7 and 11 am, adding that several Israelis had performed religious rites in the compound.

While Jewish visitation is permitted to the compound, non-Muslim worship is prohibited according to an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government after Israel’s illegal occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

During the process, six visitors were evacuated from the compound for violating regulations on Tuesday morning, adding that three Israeli Jews and a Palestinian Muslim were also detained after a heated argument between them turned into a physical fight outside of Al-Aqsa's Chain Gate.

Al-Samri added that police units were deployed across the Old City, adding that the streets of the Old City would be closed off for all private vehicles, except for residents of the area, starting at 5 p.m. in preparation for the arrival of worshipers at the Western Wall after a day of fasting.

Palestinian activists in Jerusalem called on Jerusalemites to protest Tuesday afternoon’s "provocative" march official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Despite the agreement with Jordan, which is the custodian of Al-Aqsa, Israeli authorities regularly allow Jewish visitors to enter the site, often under armed guard. Such visits are typically made by right-wingers attempting to unsettle the status quo at the site, and coincide with restrictions on Palestinian access, including bans on entrance and detentions.

According to extremist Israeli organization Yeraeh, which pushes for the destruction of Al-Aqsa in order to build a Third Temple in its place, at least 17,000 Jews have visited the compound since October, marking a 15 percent increase over the previous year.

This comes in the wake of a 13-day long campaign by Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank to denounce security measures installed at the Al-Aqsa compound following a deadly shooting attack on July 14, Ma'an reported.

The measures sparked widespread protests, as Palestinians said the Israeli move was the latest example of Israeli authorities using Israeli-Palestinian violence as a means of furthering control over important sites in the occupied Palestinian territory and normalizing repressive measures against Palestinians.

Six Palestinians were killed by Israelis when demonstrations were violently repressed, before Israeli forces backtracked and removed the surveillance cameras and metal detectors put up at the entrance of the compound.

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