More than 380 illegal Israeli settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday to celebrate the Jewish Hanukkah holiday, a Palestinian official said.
The official from Jerusalem's Islamic Endowments Directorate told Anadolu that the settlers stormed the complex in groups under police protection in the morning and afternoon and performed Talmudic prayers at the site.
Incursions by illegal Israeli settlers have escalated during the eight-day Hanukkah holiday, which started on Sunday. In 2003, the Israeli police unilaterally allowed illegal settlers to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, and since then their numbers have increased annually despite opposition and demands of cessation from the Islamic Endowments Directorate.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area 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 in a move never recognized by the international community.
