By Abdelraouf Arna'out
JERUSALEM (AA) - Scores of Israeli settlers on Monday forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem to mark the second day of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
In a statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees holy sites in Jerusalem, said more than 160 settlers entered the site through the compound’s Al-Mugharbah Gate under Israeli police protection.
Right-wing rabbi Yehuda Glick was among the settlers who broke into the compound, it added.
Setter groups have called on supporters to storm Al-Aqsa complex to mark the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), which lasts until Monday evening.
On Sunday, the Islamic Waqf Department said 634 settlers had stormed the site with Israeli police locking Palestinian worshippers inside the Al-Qibli mosque inside the Al-Aqsa complex.
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.
Since 2003, Israel has allowed settlers into the compound almost daily.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar