Dozens of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem on Sunday morning and later in the afternoon.
According to al-Qastal News website at least 114 settlers escorted by police officers entered the Mosque in groups through its Maghariba Gate and toured its courtyards.
During their tours at the Islamic holy site the settlers received lectures from rabbis about the alleged temple mount and a number of them gathered in the eastern area of the Mosque and performed silent Talmudic prayers.
Meanwhile the Israeli occupation police tightened their restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshipers to the Mosque in the morning prevented many of them from entering the holy site and expelled others from its courtyards.
The Israeli police have embarked on intensifying their presence in the Old City of Jerusalem since the early morning hours to provide protection for scores of settlers who started to flock to the city to mark the Hanukkah holiday.
However dozens of Muslim worshipers were able to rally in the Mosque’s courtyards and chants religious slogans in protest at the desecration of their holy site by Jewish settlers.
For several days Jewish extremist groups have been inciting their followers on social media to march en masse to the Aqsa Mosque and perform rituals in its courtyards during the eight-day Hanukkah holiday which started today December 18.
