Jordan condemns storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces

Jordan on Sunday condemned storming of Al Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli forces, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordan's Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Hayel Daoud called for international efforts to end these measures by Israel.

He said such raids into the yards of the mosque represent a stark violation.

Jordan oversees the holy Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem under the 1994 peace deal with Israel an other deals with the Palestinian Authority, which envisages east Jerusalem as the capital of its future state.

Israeli forces stormed into Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound on Sunday after dozens of Palestinians hurled stones and firecrackers at police officers, officials said.

The clashes took place shortly after the site, holy to both Muslims and Jews, was opened to Jewish visitors earlier in the day on the occasion of the Ninth of Av, a fast day, in which Jews commemorate the destruction of their first and second Jewish Temples.

Masked Palestinian youths barricaded themselves in the Temple Mount, throwing stones and firecrackers at the police.

In order to prevent further escalation, "a police force entered a number of metres inside the compound and closed the doors to the mosque with the rioters inside, restoring order," a police spokesperson said.

The al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and the most holy site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount and revere it as the site of their second temple, which was destroyed in 70 A.D. Endit