JERUSALEM, August 2, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli police continued on Wednesday to harass Palestinians seeking to enter the walled Al-Aqsa Mosque compound when its forces banned an employee of the Waqf from entering it.

Officials from the Waqf, the Jordanian governmental body in charge of the holy compound in Jerusalem, said Israeli police stationed at the gates that lead to Al-Aqsa compound banned a mosque guard from entering it to attend to his place of work.

They said police has banned in recent days a number of Waqf employees from reaching their work place in the mosque threatening to arrest them if they are found inside it.

Police also harassed as well people seeking to enter the compound for worship.

A Palestinian man identified as Muhammad Abu Sbeih from Jerusalem was assaulted by police on Tuesday as he tried to enter the compound from Chain Gate, one of the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Abu Sbeih was detained at a nearby police station, said sources.

Palestinians succeeded last week in forcing the Israeli police to remove installations placed at the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, a step seen by police as defeat to their plans at the Muslim  holy compound.

As a result, police has intensified harassment of people entering the compound through manual searches of individuals or banning a number of activists, men and women, from entering the compound.

M.K.