Groups of extremist Israeli Jewish settlers heavily guarded by police broke into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem this morning, according to local sources.
Witnesses said scores of Israeli settlers entered the compound through the Moroccan Gate in groups and performed rituals there under the protection of Israeli police officers.
Since 2003, the Israeli occupation authorities have been allowing Israeli Jewish settlers into the compound almost on a daily basis, with the exception of Friday, the Muslim day of rest and worship, and Saturday of every week.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the Six-Day War in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency