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