JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli authorities have reopened the entrances to East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex after closing them for several hours following Friday prayers, according to a Palestinian official.
Earlier Friday, dozens of Palestinians were attacked and arrested after Israeli special forces raided the Al-Aqsa’s Al-Qibali Mosque.
“At least 50 policemen raided the Al-Qibali Mosque, attacking worshipers and arresting 20 others,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, said in a statement.
According to the Religious Endowments Authority, a total of 15 Palestinians were injured — including three mosque guards — in the melee.
For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount “, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem — in which the Al-Aqsa is located — during the 1967 Middle East War.
It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the “eternal capital” of the self-proclaimed Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.
In late 2000, a visit to the Al-Aqsa by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked a years-long popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians lost their lives.
