JERUSALEM, April 2, 2017 (WAFA) – 67 Israeli settlers on Sunday morning broke into al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli police, local sources said.

WAFA correspondent said that the settlers, divided in groups, forced their way into al-Aqsa Mosque through the Chain Gate (Bab al-Silsileh) under heavy protection of the Israeli police, and provocatively toured around the holy site.

He said that the Jewish settlers practiced Talmudic rituals at the Islamic Holy site while Israeli police provided protection for them. Muslim worshipers present at the site, meanwhile, chanted religious slogans to protest the settlers’ entry.

Israeli Jewish settlers organize provocative visits to the Islamic holy site almost on a daily basis.

According to statistics released by the Jordan-run Islamic Awqaf Department, 14,806 Israeli Jewish settlers broke into al-Aqsa mosque in 2016 alone.

K.T/M.N