JERUSALEM, September 6, 2018 (WAFA) – Israeli police watched without intervening as a group of fanatic Jews held prayers on Thursday inside Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound in Jerusalem’s Old City during visit hours breaking standing rules and provoking Muslim worshippers, according to Muslim Waqf (endowment) officials.

They said the number of extremists visiting Al-Aqsa has increased as Jewish holidays approach and calls on fanatics to be present at the Muslim holy site in larger numbers.

The standing rules say that non-Muslims can visit the site during regular visit hours but are not allowed to perform any religious ritual.

While Israeli police, who accompany the extremists on their tours, have previously prevented breaking the law on this matter, they recently have become lax in implementing them.

Waqf officials said the police did not intervene when the fanatic Jews started to pray, but rather forced the Muslim security guards of the Mosque to keep away from the extremist Jews and not to interfere in their prayers.

Palestinians fear Israel is trying to slowly change the status quo at Al-Haram al-Sharif, which it refers to as Temple Mount, with a goal to eventually take it over, destroy the mosques and turn it into a Jewish worship site.