Hundreds of Zionist settlers attack al-Aqsa mosque

Rasa - Hundreds of Zionists entered the al-Aqsa mosque for the third day in a row; the attacks are being carried out on the occasion of the Jewish ‘Day of Rage’.

News ID: 433131

Date: 11 October 2017 - 10:40

RNA‌ - Nearly 400 Zionist extremists attacked the al-Aqsa mosque under heavy security protection this morning.

The attackers reportedly entered the mosque for Bab al-Magharebah. According to local news agencies, Zionists enter the al-Aqsa mosque for the third day in a row to commemorated the Jewish Day of Rage.

Thursday marked the sixth day of clashes between Muslim worshipers and Israeli forces. Some 50 Palestinians were wounded in the latest skirmishes.

Palestinian al-Aqsa satellite channel, separately, reported that Israeli forces had raided the house of Amjad Abu Asab, the chairman of the al-Quds Committee for Families of Prisoners, in al-Quds and arrested him.

The local body campaigns on behalf of the kinsmen of the thousands-strong Palestinians in Israeli incarceration.

Arab League, Jordan demand al-Aqsa reopening

The Arab League warned against the consequences of Israel’s “dangerous” closure of the al-Aqsa Mosque and ban on Friday prayers.

In a statement released on Friday, the 22-member pan-Arab organization said the move would adversely affect the so-called peace process in the region and fuel conflict, terrorism and extremism.

It further called on Israel to the immediately reopen al-Aqsa and avoid any attempt to change the historic status of the mosque, demanding the international community protect the Islamic and Christian sacred sites.

Additionally, Jordan, which serves as the custodian of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, urged the reopening of the site and advised Israel to “refrain from taking any step aimed at changing” the status quo of Jerusalem al-Quds or the mosque compound.

“Jordan rejects any attack on the rights of Muslims,” Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Momani said in a statement carried by the official Petra news agency on Friday.

Qatar wants global action

In a similar development, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry censured the Israeli closure of the al-Aqsa Mosque, prevention of prayers there and declaration of the area as a closed military zone as a severe violation of the sanctity of Islamic sites and a provocation to millions of Muslims around the world.

In a statement, the ministry called on the international community to assume its responsibility in halting these violations.

‘Aqsa’s historical status must be respected’

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed regret over Friday’s incident, saying, “It is a humanitarian and legal obligation to respect the sanctity and historical status of the religious sites in the Israeli occupied East Jerusalem [al-Quds], especially the Haram al-Sharif.”

The Haram al-Sharif should be opened to worshipers “via the immediate lifting of the entry ban imposed by Israel and calm should be attained as soon as possible,” it added.

Dozens arrested after shooting

In the immediate aftermath Friday’s shootout, Israeli forces detained dozens of employees of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, an Islamic religious trust that manages the current Islamic edifices on and around the Haram al-Sharif.

Firas Dibs, head of the Waqf public relations, told the Palestinian Ma’an news agency that Israeli forces had detained 58 staff of the organization, and interrogated them over the gunfight.

The occupied lands have witnessed tensions ever since Israeli forces imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound two years ago.

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

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since October 2015, when the tensions intensified.

Tel Aviv has come under fire for using violence against Palestinians and adopting a policy of shoot-to-kill.

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