The Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second time in 24 hours, assaulted the worshipers there, and enabled settlers to storm it again today, Thursday, in a step that fueled anger in the Palestinian territories, amid warnings of an explosion in the situation.
Hours after the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacking the seclusion and worshipers inside it before the end of Tarawih prayers, groups of settlers stormed the mosque’s courtyards for the second day in a row.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, under heavy Israeli police protection. This comes after an attempt by Jewish extremists to introduce offerings to be slaughtered in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa on the occasion of the Jewish Passover holiday, which began on Wednesday and will last for a week.
Last night, the police stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque during Tarawih prayers, where they assaulted the worshipers, then pursued the worshipers and the worshipers and emptied the Al-Qibli Mosque completely.
For its part, the Palestinian Authority for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said that the occupation forces arrested dozens after they arrested about 500 the night before after storming Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of the presence of what it described as instigators armed with fireworks and stones inside.
Yesterday evening, Wednesday, angry marches took place in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and Arab cities within the Green Line and the Gaza Strip, to condemn the Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Clashes erupted in Jerusalem, Hebron and Nablus, and the Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that dozens of Palestinians were injured in clashes with the occupation forces in the West Bank and inside the Green Line.
In the Gaza Strip, mass marches took place from the mosques after the Isha and Tarawih prayers, to condemn the Israeli violations in Al-Aqsa Mosque, after the occupation forces attacked the worshipers and those stationed inside it.
Participants denounced the Arab and international silence towards the Israeli violations, and demanded protection and freedom of worship for worshipers and seclusion inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
In the responses of the resistance factions, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that what the occupation forces committed in Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a crime that will not go unpunished by the Palestinian people and its resistance.
For his part, a member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Muhammad al-Hindi, said that the Palestinian people will confront the Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa and will thwart the plans behind these attacks and incursions.
And White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre called yesterday evening, Wednesday, for a reduction in escalation between the Palestinians and the Israelis, noting that Washington is concerned about what is happening.
In turn, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano expressed his dissatisfaction with the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that the European Union calls for preserving the existing legal status of the holy places.
Today, Thursday, the UN Security Council will hold a closed consultation session on developments in Al-Aqsa Mosque, at the request of a Palestinian-Jordanian.
On the eve of the session, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said that Guterres was shocked and dismayed by the images of violence practiced by the Israeli forces against worshipers in the Al-Qibli Mosque in Al-Aqsa Mosque, adding that the countries concerned should use their influence to calm the situation.
