Israeli forces brutally assaulted Palestinian worshippers at Bab as-Silsila (the Chain Gate), one of the main entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday, September 17.
This follows the tight security measures imposed by the Israeli forces, ejecting worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque and intensifying their presence around it on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
In celebration of Rosh Hashanah, about 426 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the protection of Israeli forces.
Videos shared by Palestinians on social media platforms show Israeli forces physically assaulting and beating up three worshippers, including an elderly man and a woman.
This violent attack occurred after the three worshippers had peacefully protested against an illegal Jewish settler who blew a horn at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Watch the video below here
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa is located on a plaza at Temple Mount, which is known as the Haram-e-Sharif in Islam. The mount is also considered the holiest site in Judaism. The most imposing structure on the compound is the Dome of the Rock, with its golden dome.
The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall to the Jews, is one side of the retaining wall of the Al-Aqsa compound.
Al-Aqsa is the focus of rival claims on Jerusalem. Both Israel and Palestine have declared it, their capital. In July 1980, the Israeli parliament approved the Jerusalem law and declared it the capital of the state.
The 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence also declared Jerusalem the capital. The Palestinian Authority is currently headquartered in Ramallah.
Shortly after the end of the six-day war in 1967, Israel returned to Jordan, the administration and organization of the Al-Aqsa compound. While non-Muslims were not allowed to worship at Al-Aqsa, Jewish individuals and groups made repeated attempts to enter the Temple Mount plaza.
Since the late 1990s, around the time of the first Intifada, these attempts began to occur regularly as Jewish settlers began to claim land in and around East Jerusalem. This leads to frequent clashes and tensions in Al-Aqsa.
