On Monday morning, Israeli police prevented all female students studying the Quran at the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem from entering its courtyard without providing any justification for their actions.
Specialist in Jerusalem affairs, Jamal Omar, told “Safa” that the police prohibited all female students from entering any of al-Aqsa’s gates this morning, and at the moment, has them cornered outside Lion’s Gate (Bab Al-Asbat).
He explained that the students are protesting at the Lion’s Gate and are chanting, “We sacrifice our souls and our blood for Al-Aqsa.” They are expressing their anger at being prohibited from entering the Mosque, and are insisting on entering it to learn and defend it.
He noted that the police have increased their presence in the mosque’s courtyard and at its gates and threated the students with arrest if they did not vacate the premises. He also pointed out that male students have been allowed to enter the mosque.
The Israeli police prevented 55 male and female students from entering the al-Aqsa courtyard and confiscated their ID’s as a punitive measure for attempting to prevent extremist settlers from storming the Mosque.