JERUSALEM, March 30, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli police on Wednesday afternoon detained a Palestinian young man for waving Palestine flag at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, according to local sources.

Witnesses told WAFA that policemen severly beat up and detained a Palestinian young man while he was waving Palestine flag as a group of Israeli settlers was touring the holy site.

During the detention, a number of worshipers chanted religious slogans in defiance of the Israeli settlers who were touring the site, under the protection of policemen.

The man, who remained unidentified, was taken to nearby Qashla police station for interrogation.

The compound, which sits above the Western Wall Plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque and is the third holiest site in Islam.

It is also venerated as Judaism‘s most holy place as it sits where Jews believe the First and Second Temples once stood.

Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

M.N./ K.F.