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Hundreds of Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, according to a Palestinian agency.
In a brief statement, the Jordan-run Islamic Waqf Department, which oversees holy sites in Jerusalem, said 2,201 settlers had entered the site.
The statement said right-wing rabbi Yehuda Glick were among settlers who stormed the compound.
An official with the Islamic Waqf Department earlier told Anadolu Agency that hundreds of Israeli settlers had stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex through the mosque's Al-Mugharbah Gate under Israeli police protection.
The settler incursions came amid rising tensions across the Palestinian territories over the ongoing Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
At least 31 Palestinians have been killed, including six children and four women, and over 257 others injured in three days of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Friday.
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.
Since 2003, Israel has allowed settlers into the compound almost daily.
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.
Writing by Ahmed Asmar -
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