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Israel seeks to take over al-Aqsa compound in an attempt to put an end to Palestinians' claim on the land, says a professor.

“The point is that Israel wants to eliminate the al-Aqsa site, take it over and redefine it as a Jewish site -- essentially to eliminate any Palestinian claim to the land,” Seif Da’na, associate professor with the University of Wisconsin from Chicago, said in an interview with Press TV.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to take “legal measures” to prevent illegal Israeli settlers from attacking the al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

The holy Islamic site has been the scene of clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli settlers and troops in the past few weeks.

At least 1,300 Israeli settlers and hundreds of soldiers have forced their way into the compound in the past ten days while thousands of Palestinian Muslims under the age of 50 have been barred from entering the site.

The professor also stated that the Palestinian Authority should sign the Rome Statute which will enable the Palestinians to go to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and pursue Israel for war crimes.

The al-Aqsa compound, which lies in the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds, is a flashpoint holy site in Islam.

The location of the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism. The mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.