JERUSALEM

Dozens of Jewish settlers on Thursday stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied East Jerusalem. 

“Under the protection of Israeli police, over 100 settlers stormed the compound through Al-Mugharbah gate,” Jerusalem Islamic Waqf (religious endowments) said in a statement.

The settlers called upon the Israeli government to expel the Islamic Waqf from the mosque’s compound. 

Islamic Endowments, for its part, warned of the dangerous consequences of such demands made in Al-Aqsa under the watch of Israeli police that provided protection to the settlers’ incursion. 

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.