Israel arrests 12 worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli forces today detained 12 Palestinian worshippers from inside Al-Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards in East Jerusalem, according to a Palestinian official.

“Dozens of Israeli police officers stormed the compound and arrested 12 Palestinians while they were reading the Holy Quran in the mosque courtyards,” Firas Al-Dibs, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, told the Anadolu Agency.

No details were available why the 12 Palestinians were arrested.

Meanwhile, some 53 Jewish settlers forced their way into the site since morning, according to Al-Dibs.

Read: Israel bans five Jerusalemites from Al-Aqsa

“The number of the settlers storming the mosque is expected to increase,” he said.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state in a move never recognised by the international community.