More than 1,300 Israeli settlers entered Jerusalem's historic Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday defying a long-standing ban on non-Muslim prayer at the site according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
Israeli police escorted the settlers in groups of about 150 into the compound. Once inside, they performed Talmudic rituals sang prayed loudly and engaged in prostration in the eastern courtyard.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces imposed strict entry restrictions across the Old City, blocking many Palestinians from reaching the mosque. Only a few worshippers were able to attend dawn prayers, and the governorate reported that police later assaulted several Palestinians at the site.
Under the historical "status quo" agreement, only Muslims are permitted to pray at Al-Aqsa, which is Islam's third-holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian identity. However the compound is also revered as Judaism's holiest site (known to Jews as the Temple Mount). The incursions coincided with Tisha B'Av a Jewish fast day commemorating the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
