SOME 14,000 ISRAELIS RAIDED AL-AQSA MOSQUE IN 2014 : NGO

Al-Quds, 12 Safar 1436/5 December 2014 (MINA) – A Palestinian non-governmental organization says nearly 14,000 Israelis, most of them extremist settlers, have forced their way into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) since the beginning of 2014.

The al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage said in a statement issued on Thursday that as many as 13,757 Israelis have stormed the site since the start of 2014, compared to 12,771 who stormed the compound throughout the preceding year.

The organization stated that some 1,600 Israelis, including 1,411 settlers, 104 soldiers and 83 intelligence agents, stormed the sacred site in October alone. Press Tv quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

In November, over 1,200 Israelis entered the place, including 1,081 settlers, 104 soldiers and 22 Israeli intelligence officers.

Over the past weeks, the al-Aqsa Mosque has been the scene of clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli settlers and troops.

Israel has over the past decades tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.

The al-Aqsa compound, which lies in the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds, is a flashpoint. The location of the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism. The mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. (T/P007/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)