Israeli settlers, police storm J'lem's Al-Aqsa compound

JERUSALEM (AA) – Dozens of Jewish settlers and policemen on Thursday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to a Palestinian official. <br> </p> <p>“Forty-one Jewish settlers and 81 retired officers — backed by Israeli soldiers — forced their way into the mosque compound through Al-Aqsa’s Al-Mugharbah Gate,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu Agency. <br> </p> <p>In a fresh escalation, several retired officers entered the iconic Dome of the Rock Mosque after making a brief tour of the mosque’s courtyard, according to al-Dibs. <br> </p> <p>For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the &quot;Temple Mount&quot;, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. <br> </p> <p>Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.