Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem

By Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - More than 600 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday to celebrate the Jewish Hanukkah holiday, Palestinian authorities said.

The Jerusalem Governorate said in a statement on US social media company Facebook that 645 illegal settlers broke into the flashpoint site in the morning.

The statement added that 250 foreign tourists also entered the mosque through a gate operated by the Israeli authorities.

Large groups of illegal settlers staged loud celebrations at the Western Wall (Al-Buraq Wall) last night to mark the beginning of a new month in the Hebrew calendar and the sixth night of the Hanukkah holiday, the governorate said.

The Al-Buraq Wall, called by Jews as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, is a significant religious site for both Muslims and Jews and forms part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

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

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