156 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque under protection of occupation police

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS, Aug. 17 (YPA) – 156 Zionist settlers stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday through the Mughrabi Gate, under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces.

The Islamic Waqf Department in occupied Jerusalem reported that the settlers conducted provocative tours of the mosque’s courtyards and performed rituals in its eastern area, according to the Palestinian Information Center.

The occupation forces tightened their procedures at the gates of Al-Aqsa, imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers, and confiscated the identity cards of a number of them at the outer gates.

The incursions come amid a continuous escalation of attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, with repeated settler incursions under police protection and the performance of Talmudic prayers inside, coinciding with the tightening of access for Palestinians.

Incursions by officials and ministers in the occupation government into Al-Aqsa have also escalated recently, as part of practices aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo of the mosque.