On Thursday morning, hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque amid calls for mass rallies by Israeli right-wing activists and alleged "temple" groups.
According to the Islamic Endowments Department, the occupation police opened this morning the "Gate of the Moroccans" to carry out the intrusions of the settlers; "where the mosque witnessed massive mass incursions," she said. In just one hour, 150 settlers stormed, amid heavy security protection and escort by the Israeli special forces that were deployed in al-Aqsa and among the worshipers. The endowments confirmed that the Israeli police closed the "Gate of the Moroccans" after the storming of 200 settlers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. She pointed out that the Israeli police arrested the guard of Al-Aqsa Mosque Samer al-Qabbani, in front of the "door of the Council" (one of the doors of al-Aqsa), and took him to one of its positions in the old town. The reporter, "Quds Press," quoting worshipers coming to the Al-Aqsa Mosque since the morning, said that the Israeli police intensified the search procedures and the identification of identity at the gates of the mosque. The worshipers added that some of those who were able to enter the Aqsa Mosque were following the settlers and throwing stones at them, while waiting for the police forces to photograph the events. The alleged "Temple" groups have called their supporters since last week to carry out a series of mass incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in protest against the reopening of the Bab al-Rahma chapel by the Islamic Waqf Council. And called for storming the chapel and converting it to a church and the implementation of rituals and prayers in it. It is noteworthy that the number of intruders will rise during the day on Thursday, because of allowing the settlers to tour again break after the completion of the noon prayer and for an hour. Because the clock is not enough to carry out large intrusions, the Israeli police usually enter the settlers of the Al-Aqsa Mosque of the "Gate of the Moroccans" and then turn to the course of "escape" (which is the path directly to the door of the Mughrabi Gate) without the establishment of tours inside Al-Aqsa Mosque. The events began with tension and escalation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque after the opening of the Palestinian worshipers, a few weeks ago prayer chapel of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was closed since 2003 by an Israeli decision, on the pretext of the existence of an illegal institution. The site witnessed clashes between worshipers and the occupation forces that tried to close the chapel. A large number of Awqaf officials, al-Aqsa mosque guards, activists and several Palestinians were also arrested. They were deported for varying periods from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinians fear that the Israeli measures in the Bab al-Rahma area will be a prelude to the spatial separation inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the allocation of a place for Jewish settlers to pray inside the mosque, similar to the spatial separation in the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron, which was divided between Muslims and Jewish settlers.
