Israel exacerbated the tense situation in occupied Jerusalem once again, and its elements stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque squares this morning (Sunday), to secure settlers’ storming of the Temple Mount squares on the fourth day of the “Jewish Passover” holiday, after the occupation police attacked worshipers last week. The incursions came in the form of groups under heavy police protection. The settlers performed rituals, amid a state of tension in the atmosphere of the old town. The occupation forces closed the Hamra military checkpoint and the village of Frush Beit Dajan in the Jordan Valley, in the northeastern occupied West Bank.
Large numbers of police officers deployed inside the mosque's courtyards to secure these stormings, following calls by extremist Jewish groups to intensify the stormings, in conjunction with what is known as the "priests' blessing prayer" in the Al-Buraq Wall area. The occupation police reinforced its forces with 4 other companies of reserve forces in the Border Guard and deployed them in the city of Jerusalem, focusing on the Old City and its surroundings.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh stressed that the continuous Israeli provocations against Al-Aqsa Mosque are unacceptable, and will turn its courtyards into a battlefield, which will lead to a serious deterioration of the situation. He stressed that the daily attacks against sanctities and worshipers are condemned measures, and unacceptable actions that work to ignite the region and drag it towards the abyss. Abu Rudeineh held the Israeli occupation government responsible for what will happen to the situation as a result of the continued commission of crimes, stressing that the occupation's challenge to the people will not discourage them.
And the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem reported that dozens of settlers began to storm the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups from the Mughrabi Gate, and carried out provocative tours, and performed Talmudic rituals under the strict protection of the occupation police.
The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) warned that the Israeli occupation forces had turned the mosque's courtyards into military barracks and set up barriers inside the walls of the Old City, to secure settlers' incursions into the Haram Square.
On the other hand, Jordan refused to receive an official letter from Israel calling for pressure on the Islamic Waqf to remove the religious believers, whom it described as “terrorists,” from the mosque. Amman and Tel Aviv exchanged accusations regarding the i'tikaaf of dozens of Palestinians in Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
And the Jordanian Foreign Ministry warned on Saturday evening of the "catastrophic consequences" of Israel's continued violation of the historical and legal status quo in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and its violations of the sanctity of the holy places and the right of Muslims to perform their religious rituals in the holy month. It held the Israeli government responsible for the escalation in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories, and for the deterioration that would worsen if it did not stop its incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Okaz (Amman, Jeddah) @okaz_online