Over 700 Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa complex

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – More than 700 Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, according to a Palestinian agency.

In a statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees the holy sites in Jerusalem, said 762 settlers stormed the site and stayed there for about three-and-a-half hours.

Ahead of the settler incursion, Israeli police stormed the complex and evacuated worshippers from inside the site, according to eyewitnesses.

The Israeli police fired rubber-coated metal bullets and sound bombs in the mosque's courtyards and inside the Qibli Mosque, they added.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a written statement, "Our crews dealt with an injury in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with a rubber bullet in the face, who was transferred to the hospital for treatment."

The number of injured was not determined, but the Israeli police said in a statement that two Palestinians were injured inside the Qibli Mosque, where worshipers protested against the storming.

The incursions related to the Jewish Passover end Thursday, after five consecutive days that witnessed a total number of 3,670 settlers forcing their way into the complex.

Settlers storm the mosque’s courtyards, under police guard, on all days of the week, except for Friday and Saturday.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the police will stop the Israeli incursions, starting from tomorrow, Friday, until Eid Al-Fitr, on the occasion of the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

With the end of the incursions and the withdrawal of the Israeli police, the doors of the mosque were reopened to worshipers.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat