Hyderabad, May 1 -- Israeli settler incursions into the Al Aqsa Mosque compound have surged by more than 18,000 percent since 2003, when authorities first allowed settlers to bypass the Islamic Waqf administration.

According to figures from the Waqf-the body responsible for managing the Al Aqsa Mosque compound-the number of settler entrants rose from just 289 in 2003 to 53,488 in 2024, with the only notable decline occurring in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported.

In 2023, the Waqf recorded 48,223 incursions, while more than 48,000 and 35,000 were documented in 2022 and 2021 respectively.

The Al Aqsa Mosque compound, located in East Jerusalem's Old City, is the third holiest site in Islam and considered th...