JERUSALEM, June 18, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli police stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, right after worshipers at the site were protesting against the provocative visit of a group of Jewish settlers to the Islamic holy site.

Israeli police reportedly attacked with teargas and toxic gas canisters the protesting worshipers as well as assaulted them with clubs. The mosque’s director, Omar al-Kiswani, was reportedly hit by an Israeli policeman’s club in the head and injured.

WAFA correspondent and witnesses said special police forces chased the worshipers until the latter barricaded in the southern building of the mosque, where the police mounted the rooftop of the building and smashed historical window glasses in order to photograph the worshipers inside the building.

The police also assaulted the worshipers with teargas canisters, causing multiple cases of suffocation among them.

Meanwhile, Israeli police also banned the entry of Muslim worshipers below the age of 30 to the holy site.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is sacred to Muslims and is seen by them as the world‘s third holiest site.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - in which Al-Aqsa is located - during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its "eternal and undivided" capital.

M.N