[Al Jazeera] Hundreds of Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem to commemorate the historic destruction of Jewish temples, referred to in Israel as Tisha B'av.Palestinian sources said that at least 1,023 settlers entered the compound on Sunday under heavy police protection.
The Al-Aqsa compound, which houses the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, represents the third holiest site in Islam, while in Judaism it is considered their most holy place.
Yehuda Glick, a far-right Israeli Knesset member, who campaigns for Jewish access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, was seen in the compound.
Firas al-Dibis, an official with Jerusalem's Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu News Agency that Israeli police stormed the compound before the settlers and carried out security sweeps and search.
Al-Dibis also said Israeli forces denied access to Najeh Bakirat, a scholar at the Endowments Authority, and allowed Muslim worshippers inside the mosque after seizing their IDs.
According to Palestinian local news agencies, a Palestinian boy was arrested after raising the Palestinian flag in the compound.
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Yehudah Glick, a Likud MK and Temple Mount activist, said that 1,400 Jews visited the holy site. That number would surpass the record 1,300 Jews who visited the Temple Mount last year for Tisha B’Av.
However,
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Firas al-Dibis, the media coordinator of the Moslem Waqf, put the number at 1,023, according to PA state-run news outlet WAFA. Police did not immediately respond to The Times of Israel with an official tally.
Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of both temples and several other disasters in Jewish history, began Saturday evening and will end at nightfall on Sunday. Both temples stood on the mount, which today houses the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock Shrine.
The Temple Mount is administered by the Waqf, a religious trust run and funded by Jordan. The site is holy to both Judaism and Islam and is a major flashpoint in the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict.
Some 10 people were nabbed
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while on or near the Temple Mount holy site, though several of them have reportedly been released.
A video posted by the group Students for the Temple Mount showed large crowds on the esplanade and scuffles with police. Another video posted by the group showed police leading away a Jewish man for prostrating himself at the site in violation of its rules prohibiting non-Moslem prayer.