Jerusalem: A group of Jewish settlers stormed Masjid al Aqsa hours after Israeli occupation forces vacated the Holy Site from worshippers praying during the Holy Month of Ramadan early in the morning Wednesday.
Earlier, Israeli police attacked and arrested Palestinian worshippers in the violent dawn raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Occupied East Jerusalem, according to witnesses.
At least 400 Palestinians were arrested on Wednesday and remain in Israeli custody, according to Palestinian officials. They are being held at a police station in Atarot in occupied East Jerusalem.
There were injuries during the clashes ahead of the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday late Tuesday night that broke out in the mosque and some other neighbourhoods in the old city, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media.
Some witnesses too said Israeli forces used excessive force including stun grenades and tear gas, causing suffocation injuries to the worshippers, and beatings with batons and rifles.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, on Wednesday warned against the Israeli violations in the mosque, saying that "the Israeli occupation authorities" crossing the red lines in the holy places would lead to a big explosion in the entire region.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the most sacred site, is regarded by Muslims as their third holiest site.
ملاحقات واعتداء.. هكذا حاولت قوات الاحتلال إفراغ المسجد الأقصى من المعتكفين قُبيل بدء اقتحام المستوطنين بعد فجر اليوم pic.twitter.com/bn3JRT2xOW— AlQastal القسطل (@AlQastalps) April 5, 2023
ملاحقات واعتداء.. هكذا حاولت قوات الاحتلال إفراغ المسجد الأقصى من المعتكفين قُبيل بدء اقتحام المستوطنين بعد فجر اليوم pic.twitter.com/bn3JRT2xOW
The holy site has been administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a Jordanian body, since 1948.
Under a 1967 agreement between Israel and Jordan, non-Muslim worshippers can visit the compound but are prohibited from praying there.
In April 2022, the mosque compound witnessed violent clashes between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police forces when Jews visited the holy site.
This latest incident comes amid growing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that have been going on since the beginning of this year.
At least 89 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed since January, while 15 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks in the same period of time, according to official figures.
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