RAMALLAH – Scores of Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli police broke today into the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem and performed rituals across its courtyards, according to witnesses.
WAFA correspondent said groups of Israeli settlers led by MK Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the holy site in groups ahead of the notorious flag-waving march, which is set to take place in the Old City of Jerusalem at 4:00 p.m. and is likely expected to draw thousands of Israeli nationalists.
The settlers were reportedly confronted by a handful of Palestinian worshipers who held a night vigil inside the compound in an attempt to foil the Israeli raids into the holy site.
Witnesses told WAFA that an elderly Palestinian man was brutally assaulted by Israeli police officers and evicted out of the holy site during the ongoing Israeli Jewish tours.
Earlier today, Israeli occupation forces arrested four Palestinians at the Chain Gate, one of the gates leading to the compound. The four were not yet identified.
Israeli police also imposed strict restrictions on the entry of Palestinians to the compound, only allowing people above the age of 40 access to the compound.
The development comes as thousands of Israeli nationalists are planning a contentious flag-waving march through Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City amid Palestinian warnings it could trigger violence.
The event comes at a time of particularly high tensions following months of increased tensions.
The Flag March takes place on Israel’s so-called Jerusalem Day, celebrating Israel’s illegal occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war.
