Hundreds of Israelis storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex to celebrate Sukkot

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - For the second consecutive day, hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Settlers entered the flashpoint site in groups through the Mughrabi Gate in the western wall of the mosque under Israeli police protection, witnesses said.

Right-wing Israeli groups have called for extensive settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound to celebrate the week-long Sukkot holiday, which began last Wednesday.

The Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said that 1,780 Israeli settlers stormed the site on Sunday.

Since 2003, Israel has allowed illegal settlers into the flashpoint compound almost on a daily basis with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

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

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul