Israeli police on Monday extended the time Jewish settlers are permitted to stay inside al-Aqsa Mosque for 45 more minutes as an attempt to impose a new de facto situation in the holy Islamic site.
Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem stated that “The Israeli police opened the Maghareba Gate for settlers at 7:15 a.m. and closed it at 10:30 a.m. which means 15 minutes before the scheduled opening time and 30 minutes after.”
For its part the Israeli police notified the Islamic Waqf regarding its decision to extend the settlers’ stay inside the al-Aqsa compound.
Israeli police allow settlers to storm al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning and after the noon prayer.
“We strongly reject the Israeli police decision to extend the period for Israeli extremists and tourists inside al-Aqsa Mosque” the Islamic Waqf had said in a statement last Monday.
The grand Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Hussein warned of the consequences of the Israeli decision of increasing the settlers’ time inside al-Aqsa Mosque.
“The decision is serious and displays the intentions of the Israeli occupation authorities regarding dividing al-Aqsa Mosque spatially and temporally” he added.
According to the Islamic Waqf 26 Israeli settlers and 65 Israeli students broke into al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday.
