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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli police officers kidnapped, Tuesday, one of the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, after he tried to stop some extremist Israeli settlers from breaking into the yards of the mosque through the Al-Magharba Gate.

Eyewitnesses have reported that the police kidnapped Samer Qweider, after he asked the settlers to leave the mosque area as they marched in the provocative manner, the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported.

They added that the settlers were marching in the eastern yard of the Al-Aqsa mosque, and were heading to towards the mosque itself.

The Police attacked Qweider, cuffed him, and took him to a nearby Israeli Police station.

In related news, Israeli Policemen invaded the Dome of the Rock mosque, near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and obstructed renovation work conducted by personnel of the Department of Islamic Waqf and Endowment, the Palestinians News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported.

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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Two Israeli officers raided the al-Aqsa mosque compound on Tuesday in an attempt to disrupt restorations inside the mosque, onlookers said.

Witnesses told Ma'an that the officers tried to access the al-Aqsa mosque but a guard opposed them. They then left their shoes outside and pushed him aside before entering.

The officers checked the renovation area and stepped over the workers' scaffolding.

The officers tried to access the site a day earlier, the witnesses added.

One of the officers gave the guard Muhammad Alqam a notice to visit a police station today, confiscating his ID. Islamic Waqf officials intervened to bring back his identity card.

Israeli forces also detained another guard, Samer Qweider, and accused him of banning rightists from approaching the mosque for prayers. The guard was accused of verbally abusing the settlers.

The Al-Aqsa Foundation reported that after the detention a group of Israelis raided the mosque.

The foundation condemned the arrest of the guard and said that it would stand with him, calling for an Arab and Islamic reaction toward what is going on.

An Israeli police spokesman did not immediately return calls.