Israel sends more troops to West Bank amid tensions

Rasa - Tel Aviv deploys more troops to the occupied West Bank as tensions escalate between Israelis and Palestinians over the regime’s imposition of restrictive measures on the entry of worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds.

News ID: 431179

Date: 22 July 2017 - 22:23

RNA - The Israeli military made the announcement on Saturday, saying the decision had come after a meeting of military officials in the wake of an alleged stabbing attack a day earlier.

It declined to elaborate on the matter but said the troops were in addition to hundreds of forces already deployed to the holy site.

Three Israeli settlers were killed in a reported stabbing attack in Neve Tzuf settlement northwest of the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Friday night.

The report came hours after at least four Palestinian people lost their lives during clashes in the occupied Palestinian lands.

The new restrictive measures have seen the regime in Israel install metal detectors at entry points to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the suspension of all official contact with Israel until it removed the metal detectors.

UN deplores Palestinians deaths

In a statement released on Saturday, the United Nations said the Secretary General Antonio Guterres “deeply” deplored the death of Palestinians,  calling on all political, religious and community leaders “to help reduce tension” in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Haq said “the secretary-general reiterates that the sanctity of religious sites should be respected as places for reflection, not violence,” adding that Guterres calls for the killings of the Palestinians “to be fully investigated."

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the ongoing tensions since the beginning of October 2015.

The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.

Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is also holy to Jews. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

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