Fresh Protests Erupt in al-Aqsa Mosque
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A group of Palestinian worshippers and religious students staged rallies in al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday to condemn frequent attacks on the holy site by the Jewish settlers.
Tens of Palestinian demonstrators gathered near the mosque’s Bab al-Maghrabeh (the Maghrabeh Gate) on Monday morning to vent their anger on the Jewish settlers and soldiers after a surge in the attacks on the Muslim religious site.
According to Quds Net News Agency, marchers chanted slogans against the Israeli police forces for supporting the Jewish extremists in their acts of violence against the mosque.
There are also reports that scores of Jewish settlers stormed the al-Aqsa complex on Monday under the Israeli police protection, after several Jewish groups called for mass incursions into the religious site to mark the Jewish Hanukkah holidays.
"Around 70 Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa complex through the Al-Magharbeh Gate under Israeli police protection," General Director of Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib told The Anadolu Agency.
Jewish organizations have called on supporters to storm the mosque this week to mark the Jewish Hanukkah holidays, or the "Festival of Lights."
According to a recent report by the Palestinian non-governmental organization of the al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, nearly 14,000 Israelis, most of them extremist settlers, have stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound since the beginning of 2014.
In November alone, more than 1,200 Israelis entered the place, including 1,081 settlers, 104 soldiers and 22 Israeli intelligence officers, the report noted on December 4.
