Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound under Israeli Forces’ Protection
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli settlers on Sunday stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds under the protection of the regime’s forces, with the Palestinian Foreign Ministry warning Tel Aviv against the settlers’ increasing atrocities.
The Islamic Endowment Department in al-Quds said in a statement that the settlers entered the compound through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, on Sunday morning, Palestine's official WAFA news agency reported.
They performed provocative tours at the site, which is venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
The settlers also conducted Talmudic rituals near Bab al-Rahma, which is the eastern gate of al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli legislators 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 according to an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the compound is prohibited.
Last May, frequent acts of violence against Palestinian worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque led to an 11-day war between Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli regime, during which the regime killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children.
Palestinians want the occupied West Bank as part of their future independent state and view al-Quds’ eastern sector as the capital of their future sovereign state.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates held the Israel “fully and directly” responsible for settlers’ practices in the West Bank and warned of dire consequences.
The ministry called on the UN Security Council and the United States to take necessary measures to stop the occupying regime’s “crimes and violations” against Palestinian people.
It noted that Israel as the occupying power must adhere to international will for peace and legitimacy in order for the credibility of international institutions to be preserved.
The Palestinian foreign ministry then called on the US and the Security Council to “fulfill their legal and moral obligations towards the continued suffering of Palestinian people as a result of occupation, (illegal) settlements and the large-scale ethnic cleansing they are subjected to.”
The ministry expressed its "great surprise over Washington’s and the international community’s silence on the violations and crimes” being perpetrated by Israel in the occupied Palestinian lands.
“Israel’s disregard for the Palestinian cause and escalation of crimes against our people are clearly evident that the regime is not willing to be a partner for peace,” it stated.
“The settlers’ violations against defenseless civilians, their land, property, and trees throughout the West Bank, and East al-Quds, are taking place without any punishment or deterrent,” the ministry highlighted.
“The Israeli settlers’ practices are a direct reflection of the Israeli government’s policy and decisions regarding the Palestinian cause,” it said.
