Jerusalem – Ma’an – Hundreds of settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the anniversary of the “destruction of the Temple.”

The “morning period” raids began at seven in the morning, and more than 1,000 settlers carried out their raids on Al-Aqsa, in successive groups, through the Mughrabi Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem.

The settlers performed collective and public prayers during the raid, and danced and sang in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, and the voices of their prayers rose in Al-Aqsa during the course of the raid.

The settlers raised Israeli flags during the storming of Al-Aqsa.

The occupation authorities imposed restrictions on the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa since the dawn prayer, preventing young men and allowing only the elderly to enter, with restrictions and searches. Currently, Al-Aqsa is empty of worshipers except for a small number of elderly people.

The raids on Al-Aqsa continue “in the morning period” until 11:30 am, and
resume after the noon prayer from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. The raids are carried out daily except for Fridays and Saturdays of each week, Eid days, religious occasions, and the end of Ramadan. Various Jewish holidays and occasions are exploited to carry out large raids on Al-Aqsa and pray in it. The anniversary of the so-called destruction is considered the day of “the largest and greatest gathering of raids”, and is considered the day of renewing the pledge to rebuild the alleged temple and impose sovereignty over Al-Aqsa. In the past years, the number of those who raided Al-Aqsa exceeded 2,000 extremists.

Groups of settlers also tour the outer gates of Al-Aqsa and pray there.

At dawn, the settlers attacked the worshippers as they were heading to perform the dawn prayer, chasing them, beating them and insulting them.

The settlers also attacked merchants and shops, deliberately vandalizing them and tampering with the goods, in addition to vandalizing vehicles and motorcycles.

The streets in Jerusalem surrounding
the Western Wall were closed until the early hours of the morning, coinciding with large prayers at the Western Wall.

Source: Maan News Agency