Middle East Monitor / September 5, 2021
Scores of Jewish settlers forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, according to a Palestinian agency.
In a statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees the holy sites in Jerusalem, said 144 settlers entered the complex under police protection, passing through from the Al-Maqaribe (Moroccans) Gate southwest of the mosque.
The group left the sacred site after wandering in the courtyard of Haram al-Sharif.
According to the peace treaty signed between Israel and Jordan on October 26, 1994, Masjid al-Aqsa is under the auspices of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Administration, which is affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Foundations, Islamic Affairs, and Holiness.
However, since 2003, without the permission of the administration, Jews have been entering the holy shrine with the unilateral decision of Israel, accompanied by police.
Describing these entries as “raiding”, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf says that the sovereignty of Muslims is violated.
On May 23, over 250 fanatical Jews entered Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in about three weeks. Such raids by fanatical Jews on Haram al-Sharif escalate tension in the region.
The Israeli police had not allowed Jews to enter Haram al-Sharif due to Palestinian resistance since May 4, as tension was building over Israel’s continued mistreatment of Palestinians.
