Scores of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday morning and later in the afternoon, amid tight restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshipers to the holy site
(Photo via social media)
Ramallah, July 7 (RHC)-- The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has warned against the increasing intrusions by illegal Israeli settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, under the protection of Israeli forces.thority warns of growing settler incursions at al-Aqsa Mosque
The ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the settler incursions will have serious repercussions on the historical and legal status quo at the flashpoint site and within the occupied city.
“East al-Quds is an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territory and is the capital of the State of Palestine,” the ministry stressed. It called on the UN and its agencies “to assume their responsibilities and take urgent action to save the city of al-Quds and its Christian and Islamic holy sites, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, and provide protection against the (Israeli) occupation’s unilateral escalatory measures and plans.”
Dozens of illegal Israeli settlers broke into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, on Monday.
The settlers performed Talmudic rituals at the holy site, while Israeli forces prevented Palestinian worshipers from entering the mosque, local sources said.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has warned that al-Aqsa Mosque is a “red line,” pledging to protect the sacred site from the Israeli regime’s relentless assaults and settler incursions, regardless of the cost.
As reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, illegal Israeli settlers conducted a minimum of 25 incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque during the previous month. The ministry additionally stated that Israeli forces shut down the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for 11 days, thereby hindering Christians from engaging in prayer there, citing security concerns.
Hardline Israeli officials and settlers regularly storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city, a provocative move that infuriates Palestinians. Such mass settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in al-Quds.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa is permitted but as part of a decades-old agreement between Jordan – the custodian of Islamic and Christian sites in al-Quds – and Israel in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the compound is prohibited.
The latest intrusion by Israeli settlers comes as the occupying regime keeps its bloody war machine going in the Gaza Strip, which has left at least 57,418 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, since October 7, 2023.
