Hundreds of Israelis storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex to mark Jewish holiday

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Hundreds of Israeli settlers on Wednesday forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, according to a Palestinian agency.

The Jordan-run Jerusalem Endowment Department said 336 Israeli settlers stormed the flashpoint site through the mosque’s Al-Mugharbah Gate to mark the Yom Kippur holiday.

According to the Jewish calendar, the Yom Kippur holiday starts on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, 548 Israeli settlers visited the site to celebrate the occasion.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it had been 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.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara