Ocuppant Israeli police forces on Monday sealed off all the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, much to the frustration of worshippers.
"All gates of Al Aqsa Mosque have been closed by Israeli police," Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, said in a statement.
He said police also assaulted worshippers inside the mosque.
It remains unclear the reasons of the closure.
Israeli police have yet to issue an official statement on the report.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Middle East War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital in a move never recognized by the international community.
