Jerusalem, June 28 (Petra) – Illegal Israeli settlers stormed the
Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday through the Moroccan
Gate under heavy Israeli occupation forces protection, according to
the Jerusalem Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department.

The department stated that the Israeli settlers forced their way into
the Mosque in its eastern section while Israeli forces imposed strict
restrictions on Palestinian worshippers, limiting access to the
Mosque and temporarily confiscating identification cards at its
entrances.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the Masafer
Yatta area south of Hebron. Local officials said armed settlers
attempted to storm a home in Wadi al-Rakhim and sprayed gas through
its windows, leaving several family members with symptoms of
suffocation. They were treated at the scene.

Settlers raised Israeli flags around homes in the village of Umm
Al-Khair, assaulted several Palestinians, and blocked a dirt road
linking Tubas with the nearby hamlet of Khirbet Yarza by placing
rocks across the route, disrupting movement.

Ibrahimi Mosque Director, Mu’taz Abu Sneineh, said Israeli occupation
forces prevented the call to prayer from being broadcast at the
mosque for an eighth consecutive day, under the pretext of
maintenance work.

Abu Sneineh said Israeli forces continue to control access to key
areas of the mosque, including the prayer room and the call-to-prayer
facilities, while restricting Islamic Waqf staff from entering parts
of the site.

He said he and the mosque’s chief custodian have been barred from the
site for 12 days, while five employees were summoned for questioning
at an Israe`li security center in the Telem settlement. He said the
measures are part of efforts to tighten Israeli control over the
historic religious site.

Separately, Israeli forces carried out search-and-arrest raids across
multiple areas of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The
Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said 18 Palestinians were
arrested during the operations, while a Palestinian was wounded by
Israeli gunfire during a raid on Qalandiya refugee camp, north of
Jerusalem.

//Petra// HA