JERUSALEM (AA) – Right-wing Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and a number of Jewish settlers forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday, according to a Palestinian official.
“They stormed the Al-Aqsa compound and toured the area under the protection of Israeli forces,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu Agency.
The move comes amid tension in Jerusalem after a series of Palestinian protests and the subsequent arrest of dozens of Palestinian activists by Israeli forces.
One week ago, Israeli police shut the mosque compound’s Al-Rahma Gate, preventing Palestinian worshippers from entering the site and sparking angry demonstrations.
For Muslims, 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 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
In late 2000, a visit to Al-Aqsa by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the “Second Intifada, ” a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
