Palestinians Urged to Stay at Al-Aqsa Mosque to Defend It against Israeli Regime
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Hamas called on all the Palestinians to mobilize to confront the Israeli occupation and colonial settlers and to head to the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of al-Quds in droves amid intensified Israeli assaults on worshippers at the holy mosque.
In a statement issued Friday, Hamas said the Palestinian people should stay at the al-Aqsa Mosque throughout the last ten days of the holy fasting month of Ramadan to defend al-Quds and the mosque as well as the Palestinian worshipers there, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
"Palestinian unity and resistance in confronting the Israeli occupation and Israeli colonial settlers will deter them from implementing their malicious schemes targeting Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque," the statement read.
Earlier on Friday, Israeli military forces once again attacked Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society affirmed that rubber-coated metal bullets injured 31 people, including one paramedic while dozens more suffered from tear gas inhalation.
It also reported that three journalists were wounded in the Israeli savage assault, including one who was hit with a rubber-coated bullet in his throat.
At least 11 young men were transferred to hospital for treatment, two of them in serious condition.
Hundreds of Jordanians have taken to the streets of the capital Amman in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Amid a heavy security presence at the Friday demonstration, the protesters waved flags of Jordan and Palestine and chanted slogans to express their solidarity with the Palestinians.
They also called on the Jordanian government to expel the Israeli ambassador to Amman and scrap a peace treaty signed with the regime, emphasizing that business ties with Israel must be cut off.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Sunday summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires to protest recent Israeli brutality at al-Aqsa and its vicinity.
The foreign minister’s office said he would present deputy ambassador Sami Abu Janeb with a letter demanding that Israel stop all “violations” at the mosque immediately.
In a memorandum submitted to the government on Monday, at least 87 members of parliament in the 130-seat assembly, called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador in response to “ongoing Israel aggression” and violations at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The memo also called on the government to address the UN Security Council about “stopping Israeli violations and protecting the Palestinian people.”
Tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis have witnessed a sharp rise since the start of Ramadan, as Israeli forces have stepped up raids of al-Aqsa Mosque, assaulting Muslim worshipers inside prayer halls and providing protection to the Israeli settlers desecrating Islam’s third holiest site.
The Israeli crimes have sparked widespread condemnation from Muslim countries as well as warnings for an outbreak of a new war with Gaza.
In a statement released after an emergency meeting in Amman on Thursday, the Arab League said constant Israeli violations and incursions at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque compound have been a flagrant affront to Muslim feelings that could trigger a wider conflict.
"These violations are a blatant affront and provocation of Muslim feelings everywhere and they risk a cycle of violence that threatens security and stability in the region and the world," the statement read.