Escorted And Protected By Police, 80 Israeli Settlers Break Into Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound In East Jerusalem

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JAKARTA - Dozens of Israeli settlers have forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem. This is the second occupation after three weeks ago, the same thing was done. That's the statement of an agency in Palestine.

In a statement, reported from Yenisafak on Tuesday, May 25, the Jordanian-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees holy sites in Jerusalem, said about 80 settlers entered the compound through the Al-Mugharbah Gate under the protection of Israeli police.

However, the statement did not report any clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian worshippers.

On Sunday, a number of Israeli settlers visited the site under police protection for the first time in three weeks.

Tensions have been rising across the Palestinian territories since last month over an Israeli court's decision to expel Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem in support of settlement groups.

The situation flared after Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacked worshippers inside.

Tensions spread to the Gaza Strip, with Israel launching airstrikes that killed at least 248 Palestinians, including 66 children and 39 women, and wounded more than 1,900 others.

Health authorities in the West Bank confirmed that 31 people were also killed in the occupied territories, totaling 279 across the Palestinian territories.

Twelve Israelis were also killed in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The fighting, the fiercest in years, stalled on Friday under an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. Jews called the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Since 2003, Israel has allowed settlers to enter the compound almost daily.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa was located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in an act never recognized by the international community.