Jewish extremists seek the demolition of the al-Aqsa mosque, which is considered Islam’s third holiest site [Getty]
Scores of Jewish extremists stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem early on Sunday under the protection of Israeli police, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said.
The Israelis performed rituals in the courtyards of the mosque, in violation of the status quo governing Jerusalem’s holy sites.
The latest raid on the mosque, the third most holy site in the Islamic world, came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by ministers and settlers under the protection of Israeli forces, entered the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza, carried out Jewish prayers at the site ahead of the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur.
The Israeli raids were condemned in a statement by Palestinian faction Hamas on Sunday, who called the moves “provocative” and a “blatant attack on the identity and status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a provocation against the feelings our Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations”.
“The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area, courtyards, prayer halls, walls, and gates, will remain a purely Islamic mosque,” the group said.
“This is an established fact, and the [Israeli] occupation’s excavations, incursions, rituals, and attempts to impose its biblical narrative will not succeed in altering the identity of the place or obliterating its features.” it added, referring to Israeli attempts to ‘Judaise’ Jerusalem to create a pretext for further annexation.
Hamas urged “the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation to shoulder their responsibilities towards Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to take action to confront attempts to impose new realities on Islamic holy sites”.
Jewish extremists have long sought for the creation of a Jewish temple on the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which they seek to demolish.
Israeli raids on the Muslim holy site have escalated in recent years, with Israeli forces allowing the extremists to perform rituals at the site, undermining the status quo.