Around 600 illegal Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under Israeli police protection, according to a local official.
An official with Jerusalem’s Islamic Endowments Department said on Thursday that at least 584 settlers entered the compound during the morning through the Moroccan Gate, located on its western wall.
The official said additional groups were expected to enter after noon prayers.
Witnesses said some of the groups performed religious rituals, prayers and dances inside the compound, actions they said violated the longstanding status quo governing the site.
Thursday marked the first day of a new month in the Hebrew calendar, a period when settler incursions into the compound typically increase.
Israeli authorities began allowing such incursions in 2003. The stormings have since become a recurring feature, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays, and their numbers have increased over time.
A flashpoint in East Jerusalem
Al-Aqsa is Islam’s third-holiest site. Jews refer to the wider compound as the Temple Mount and regard it as the location of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and annexed the area in 1980.
The annexation has not been recognised by the international community.
