Occupied Jerusalem and Ramallah, Feb 9 (Petra) – Dozens of Israeli extremists and settlers stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem on Monday under heavy police escort.

The settlers broke into the complex and performed prayers at the Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Mercy) in the eastern part of the mosque, the Islamic Waqf (endowment) Department, the guardian of the mosque said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Israeli police imposed tight restrictions on worshippers and Jerusalemites at gates in the walled Old City of Jerusalem leading to the compound, one of Islam's holiest shrines, confiscating the IDs of some of them.

In the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces arrested 20 "wanted" Palestinians, including 2 children and 2 women, during search-and-arrest raids across towns and villages, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said.

The occupation army also demolished a house in Shuqba village, west of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

The army, with a military bulldozer, stormed the village and tore down the one-story house, which, it said, was built without a permit. An agricultural shed in the village of Sarra, west of Nablus in the northern West Bank, was also razed.

The Palestinian Authority's Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said in a report that the occupation authorities enforced 538 demolition orders last year, with 1,400 structures destroyed, including 304 inhabited homes and 74 uninhabited ones, in addition to 270 livelihoods and 490 agricultural facilities.

The demolitions took place in Hebron, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Tubas, and Nablus, it said.

//Petra//SS