Israeli soldiers arrested a guard at Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Tuesday morning, while illegal settlers stormed the mosque, the Middle East Monitor reported.
Under the protection of Israeli police, groups of settlers guided by Orthodox Israeli Knesset member, Yehuda Glick entering the compound through the Al-Maghrebi Gate and performed prayers and rituals. Glick was seen taking a photo with the group of settlers who accompanied him after he performed his rituals.
Israeli settlers raid Al-Aqsa Mosque on a near daily basis and perform Talmudic rituals inside its yards, while the Israeli occupation forces limit or deny access to Muslim worshippers during this time.
The number of Israeli members of the Knesset who storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has increased in recent months since Prime Minister Netanyahu lifted a ban on Knesset members visiting the Muslim holy site.
Sources reported that police opened the gate for 36 settlers who broke into the mosque divided into four groups, all made easier with the arrest of the guard.
Recently, Israeli police arrested Muntaha Amara, the niece of Sheikh Raed Salah, who heads the Islamic Movement in Israel, while she was praying in front of the Al-Rahma Gate within the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa.
Police officers surrounded her and started speaking with her while she was praying, before disrupting her prayer and arresting her. “We will never bend down [in submission] and we will never be broken,” she insisted. “Al-Aqsa is for us.”
Earlier this year, Palestinian worshippers reopened the Al-Rahma Gate, 15 years after Israeli authorities closed it. Israeli settlers and officials pass through Al-Rahma Gate almost every day when they raid Al-Aqsa Mosque.
During the 1967 Middle East War, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the holy mosque is located. The entire city was formally annexed in 1980, with Israel claiming it as its capital in a move never recognised by the international community.
Photo: Alray
Edited for IMEMC: Ali Salam
