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In a statement, the Department of Islamic Endowments in Jerusalem said that 1,210 settlers entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Israeli-controlled Al-Mughrabi Gate, southwest of the mosque, and performed rituals inside.
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According to eyewitnesses, the settler group also tried to storm the compound through the Bab Huta Gate and King Faisal Gate but were intercepted by Palestinian worshipers.
Early Sunday, Israeli forces closed all entrances and gates to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israeli settler groups have called on their supporters to force their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in large numbers on Sunday to mark what they call the “destruction of the temple” in ancient times.
What is called Sovereignty Movement in Israel [Gerakan Kedaulatan di Israel] also prepared to organize a march for settlers around the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City on the same day.
On Saturday, hundreds of settlers marched in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem ahead of the planned raid on Sunday.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. The Jews call the site the “Temple Mount”, claiming that it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.
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