Over 1,100 Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex for Sukkot holiday

JERUSALEM (AA) – More than 1,100 Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot on Monday.

Sukkot is a weeklong holiday, which started September 29 and will continue until October 6, ending the annual season of Jewish holidays that had started with the Rosh Hashanah (New Year) holiday on September15.

In a statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department said that 1,142 Israeli settlers guarded by the Israeli police forced their way into the complex through the Al-Mughrabi Gate.

The settlers made tours of the mosque’s courtyards and attempted to perform “Talmudic rituals,” an official told the media requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Roads leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed attacks by the Israeli police on worshipers, preventing them from entering the mosque. Witnesses said that the police also detained two Palestinian women.

On Sunday, nearly 860 settlers had stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Islamic Waqf Department.

Israeli police began allowing the settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in 2003, despite repeated condemnations from Palestinians.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims, marking Islam’s first prayer direction and the site from which the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) ascended to the heavens for his miraculous Night Journey (Israa wal Miraj). Jews, however, insist on calling the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

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