Al-Quds Operation Natural Reaction to Israel's Crimes: Hezbollah

In the statement, which was released on Sunday, Hezbollah hailed the heroic operation carried out by Hamas member Sheikh Fadi Abu Shkhaydam in occupied East al-Quds this morning.

“This operation is a natural response to the occupation’s incessant crimes against the Palestinian people, including killings, arrests, destruction of homes and farmlands, and sends a strong message to the enemy that its crimes and terrorist acts will not remain unanswered,” Hezbollah said.

Elsewhere in its statement, Hezbollah stressed that such retaliatory operations were a practical confirmation of the vitality of the Palestinian people and their firm determination to continue resistance until the liberation of the occupied lands and the sanctities.

Israeli troops on Sunday fatally shot the 42-year-old Palestinian man near the Chain Gate, one of the entrances to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israeli police immediately closed the site to visitors following the incident.

Israeli media outlets claimed that the Palestinian man opened fire and was shot dead by troops at the scene.

He was later identified as a resident of the Shuafat refugee camp in East al-Quds and one of the leaders of Hamas resistance movement in the camp.

The Israeli Magen David Adom ambulance service said four people were wounded in the retaliatory attack, adding that two of the casualties were civilian men, while the two others were Israeli police officers.

Immediately after the incident, Hamas spokesperson Hazim Qasim praised the incident, calling it in line with the “legitimate struggle” of the Palestinian people.

Mohamed Hamada, another Hamas spokesman said in a press release later on Sunday that the resistance movement will not allow the Israeli occupying regime to persist in its aggression against the holy city.

He said that today’s operation vindicated further the Palestinian people’s adherence to the path of resistance against Israel.

Hamas spokesman described the shooting operation as “a security breach message to the Israeli enemy,” affirming that such heroic operations would continue to take place across the occupied lands.  

Hamas had earlier said that the incident underlined the Palestinian resistance against Israel will continue unabated.

Israeli troops have on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally killing Palestinians, with the videos going viral online and sparking international condemnation.

The Tel Aviv regime has been criticized for its extensive use of lethal force and extrajudicial killing of Palestinians who do not pose an immediate threat to the occupation forces or to the Israeli settlers.

Tensions have been running high in the occupied territories for months over Israel’s settlement activities and its planned eviction of Palestinian families from their ancestral homes.

At least 331 Palestinians have been killed and 16,000 more wounded in the Israeli crackdown on protests so far this year, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

During the same period, Israel demolished 721 Palestinian buildings and displaced 962 Palestinians in al-Quds and the West Bank.