JERUSALEM - A group of Israeli settlers have visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem on Monday, Jan. 23, and waved Israeli flags during their visit. Footage shows the group at the holy site and Israeli security forces around them.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Under Jerusalem’s internationally recognized status quo, Jews are allowed to visit the compound but not pray, but in recent years, Israeli settlers have been spotted performing prayer rituals inside the Al-Aqsa compound.
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.