Clashes erupt at Al-Aqsa compound after settler 'tour'

Israeli settlers, under Israeli police protection, are seen as they raid Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem on 2 June 2019 [Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency]

Muslim women shout slogans as Jews, under Israeli police protection, raid Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem on 2 June, 2019 [Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency]

Muslims shout slogans as Jews, under Israeli police protection, raid Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem on June 02, 2019. ( Faiz Abu Rmeleh – Anadolu Agency )

Israeli police close Kiblah Masjid’s entrance with a chain as fanatic Jews, under Israeli police protection, raid Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem on June 02, 2019. ( Faiz Abu Rmeleh – Anadolu Agency )

Israeli police in Jerusalem on 2 June 2019 [Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency]

injured Muslim is being carried away with Palestinian health care members, after Israeli police officers intervene them with tear gas canisters, as fanatic Jews, under Israeli police protection, raid Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem on 2 June 2019. [Faiz Abu Rmeleh – Anadolu Agency]

Clashes erupted between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli forces at East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday during a settler ‘tour’ at the flashpoint site, according to the Jerusalem Waqf (religious endowments) Agency, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the agency said Israeli police allowed more than 400 Israeli settlers into the compound, a rare visit during the final days of the fasting month of Ramadan, which will end this week.

بالرصاص المطاطي وقنابل الغاز..قوات الاحتلال تعتدي على المصلين والمعتكفين في #المسجد_الأقصى.#الأقصى_في_خطر pic.twitter.com/n3TSK8sKsC

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) June 2, 2019

Hundreds of worshippers chanted Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest) in an expression of anger at the settler tour at the flashpoint compound, the statement said.

READ: Demonstrations in 30 countries on Quds Day 

Israeli police chased and assaulted a number of worshippers, including a mosque guard and banned medics from providing medical help, the agency said.

According to an Anadolu Agency reporter, Israeli police fired teargas and stun bombs and chased worshippers as far as the entrance to the southern ceiled building, where the worshippers barricaded.

Three worshippers were reportedly arrested during the violence.

Israel aggressions on Al-Aqsa – Cartoon [Mohammad Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Sunday’s clashes came amid calls by Jewish groups for settlers to converge on the site to mark what they call the “reunification of Jerusalem”.

Israel has illegally occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

READ: Israel arrests Jerusalemite woman who protects Al-Aqsa 

In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site after Makkah and Medina. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

International law continues to view both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territory.