Hamas Affiliated Battalion Fires Rocket Towards Israeli Settlement in West Bank
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The al-Ayyash battalion, linked to the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, said to have launched a rocket towards an Israeli settlement near the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
In their statement released on Thursday, the al-Ayyash battalion, part of the Qassam Brigades - Hamas' armed wing, stated that they targeted the Ram-On settlement with a Qassam-1 rocket.
The action was taken in response to what they referred to as Israeli crimes, particularly citing raids by settlers on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of al-Quds (Jerusalem). The statement emphasized that the al-Aqsa Mosque is a "red line" and vowed to prevent any violations by Zionists.
Israeli settler incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque have increased since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right extremist cabinet took office in December.
On the same day, hundreds of Israeli settlers, including far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, entered the al-Aqsa Mosque from the Mughrabi gate, accompanied by occupation troops. They prevented Muslim worshipers from entering the holy site.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is subject to a status quo arrangement, agreed upon over a century ago, allowing only Muslims to pray there. Non-Muslim visitors are permitted at specific times and restricted to certain areas.
The Israeli settlers' recurrent incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound coincide with the regime's attacks on Palestinians in various parts of the occupied territories, particularly in Nablus and the nearby city of Jenin.
Recently, on July 3-4, Israeli forces conducted an aerial and ground offensive on Jenin and its refugee camp, resulting in the death of at least 12 Palestinians and injuring 140 others.
In a separate incident on Thursday, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian Shu'fat refugee camp in al-Quds. They were accompanied by Israel Tax Authority staff and broke into several shops in the camp to impose taxes on the owners, as reported by WAFA news agency.