JERUSALEM: The Islamic Waqf (Endowment) Department, which is in charge of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, said that around 1,601 colonists, including lawmakers and officials, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards in the early morning hours today to mark the occupation of East Jerusalem, during the 1967 June war.

Colonists performed provocative Talmudic rituals in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the streets of Jerusalem while the Israeli police attacked Palestinian residents and worshippers in the occupied city.

Video footage posted by activists showed several citizens being detained by the occupation police in the city of Jerusalem after they were brutally beaten.

Colonists also attacked Palestinian residents on Al-Wad Street in the Old City of Jerusalem and in various Jerusalem neighborhoods, as thousands of police officers were deployed throughout its neighborhoods and streets.

The provocative flag march, which is annually carried out by colonists to mark the holy city’s occupation, started from W
est Jerusalem and headed towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City.

The colonists also organized provocative marches that headed towards the Al-Buraq, right below Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Jews as the Western or Wailing Wall.

These marches are expected to continue until the late night hours today, including a mass march that will set off towards the Western Wall at 6:00 pm.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA