Watchdog: 1,691 colonial Israeli settlers broke into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque last week

Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- 1,691 Israeli colonial settlers broke into Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem last week amid aggressive attacks carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinian worshipers.

Al-Qastal, a Palestinian network hub for Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, documented that last week (from June 5 to June 9), 1,691 colonial Israeli settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa mosque compund while being guarded by heavily-armed Israeli forces.

Among those who broke into the holy site were Jewish students, Israeli settlers, Israeli officers and soldiers, employees at the occupation authorities and members of the Knesset.

The network noted the well-armed Israeli occupation forces provided the settlers with a heavy protection to facilitate their storming to the holy site.

The settlers broke into the mosque in two sessions, the morning and afternoon. They entered the mosque through the Al-Mughrabi Gate, one of the Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem and is under full-Israeli control. They also provoked Palestinian worshipers by performing Talmudic rituals and explanations, dancing and singing before leaving through the Al-Silsila Gate.

The largest number of settler’s intrusions into the holy site was recorded on June 5 when the settlers were marking the so-called Jewish holiday of the “Feast of Weeks”, Al-Qastal said.

On June 5, to secure the settlers’ provocative raids to the holy site, the Israeli forces stormed the site, assaulted large numbers of Muslim and Palestinian worshipers and blockaded dozens of worshipers inside the prayer halls. The settlers, that day, performed Talmudic prayers, sang and danced in a provocative way at the courtyards of the Compound. They also reportedly performed the epic prostration in the courtyards of the holy site.

In the meanwhile, Al-Qastal documented that last week, the Israeli occupation authorities issued four banning orders against Palestinians, preventing them from entering the mosque for a period of between one week and two weeks.

Israeli occupation authorities allow settler incursions to the mosque since 2003 under the forces protection, despite repeated objections and warnings by the Palestinian religious authorities as the visits provoke worshippers of the mosque.

In 2021, 34,562 Israeli settlers broke into the holy site, setting a new record, as in 2020, 19,000 settlers broke into the mosque and 29,700 settlers in 2019, according to Al-Qastal.