Jewish religous groups 'enter Al-Aqsa compound'

August 23, 2009

Jerusalem – Ma’an – Jewish religious groups entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, according to the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage.

The group sent a statement explaining that the incident was unprecedented, because Jewish religious groups have never in the past entered the compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The month of fasting and prayer began on Saturday.

Israeli authorities have not commented on the report.

The Al-Aqsa Foundation called on Palestinians from Jerusalem and inside the Green Line to come to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to protect it.

Last Thursday the websites of Jewish religious groups published images showing a wedding party which that was secretly staged inside the Al-Aqsa compound. The groups have also entered the compound for religious rituals and lectures about the archaeological findings they saw are the remains of the first and second Jewish Temples on the same site.

Believed to be the location where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven during his Night Journey, Al-Aqsa is the third holiest site in Islam. The compound, with the golden Dome of the Rock, is also a focal point of Palestinian national pride.

The compound sits atop what Jews refer to as the Temple Mount, where the Jewish first and second Temples are thought to have stood. The location is especially sensitive because some extremist Jewish groups seek the demolition of the mosques and the construction of a "Third Temple."

A visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the compound in 2000 helped spark the second Palestinian uprising, the Al-Aqsa Intifada.