JERUSALEM, March 23, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers on Tuesday resumed their provocative tours into al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, provoking tension with Palestinian worshipers, according to local sources.

Witnesses told WAFA that dozens of Israeli settlers accompanied by a police escort broke into the holy site and performed rituals and Talmudic prayers.

The Israeli incursion in al-Aqsa, Islam‘s third holiest place, provoked tension with Palestinian worshipers, who chanted religious slogans to protest the settlers’ entry.

Last year, tension ran high throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem, against the backdrop of Israel’s repeated assaults on the mosque, including its unilateral enforcement of a temporal division between Muslims and Jews.

Prior to the unrest in October 2015, the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor pointed out, in a report, that Israeli incitement and violations against Arabs in Jerusalem have increased dramatically in 2015.

The report, titled “Fire under the Ashes: Provoking Muslims in Jerusalem,” warned that Israeli incitement against Muslims could trigger a conflict that would likely result in disastrous consequences.

“Among the provocative acts documented by Euro-Med researchers against Palestinians in Jerusalem were performance of Talmudic prayers near Muslim worshippers, beating, throwing rubbish, cursing, death threats and preventing worshippers from reaching the mosque,” the report said.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed and over 16,000 others injured by Israeli fire since early October 2015.

M.N