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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces released four Palestinians, on Saturday afternoon, who were detained while doing repairs inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound earlier Saturday, on condition of being banned from entering the mosque for two weeks.

Local witnesses said that Israeli forces detained four employees of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee, part of the Islamic Endowment Department, which is in charge of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem and their upkeep.

Witnesses identified the released Palestinians as Issa al-Dabagh, Bassem al-Zughayer, Jumaa Munasra and Muhammad Alqam.

Following their detention, the four Palestinians were taken to the Israeli police station of Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem for interrogation.

Sources confirmed that Israeli forces released the four Palestinians on the condition of being banned from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the next two weeks.

It is noteworthy that Israeli forces are always deployed across the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to prevent Palestinians from doing any reconstruction work in the holy site.

Palestinians repeatedly accused Israel of meddling in the internal affairs of the Muslim holy place with an intention to gain control over it and to turn it into a Jewish temple due to the belief that it is the site of Jewish temples which were destroyed thousands of years ago.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. The third holiest site in Islam, it is also venerated as Judaism's most holy place, as it sits where Jews believe the First and Second Temples once stood.