Israeli settler groups on Monday resumed their daily break-ins into al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection.
Spokesman for Jerusalem’s Islamic Awqaf Department Feras al-Dibs said that about 30 settlers escorted by the Israeli police broke into al-Aqsa Mosque via al-Maghareba Gate in the early morning hours.
Al-Dibs added that the Israeli police arrested the head of the Awqaf security department at al-Aqsa Mosque Abdullah Abu Taleb near al-Rahma Gate.
The arrest came after settler groups claimed on social media websites that the cleaning campaign launched in al-Rahma Gate area following some restorations there is an “act of vandalism”.
The Israeli police further uprooted olive trees planted in the area and destroyed the new stairs built of al-Aqsa Mosque stones.
