Hamas: Unrelenting violations at al-Aqsa could detonate entire Middle East
The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has severely censured the Israeli regime and extremist Jewish settlers for their unrelenting violations at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, saying such acts of desecration could lead to an uncontrollable explosion of Muslim nations’ wrath.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Tuesday that the Israeli regime insists on provoking the feelings of Palestinian people and all Muslim nations through escalating violations of the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
“The acts of provocation against the sacred site are all considered an utter disregard for the sentiments of Muslims across the world. The unrelenting violations could lead to an uncontrollable explosion and unleash the wrath of all Muslim nations,” he added.
Earlier in the day, dozens of Israeli settlers intruded into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of the regime’s forces as Jews celebrated their New Year, Rosh Hashanah.
Palestine’s official Wafa news agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the settlers broke into the site through the Moroccan Gate, also known as Maghariba Gate.
They then embarked on a provocative tour inside the compound and performed Talmudic rituals.
Israeli right-wing groups have called for the storming of the site so as to increase Jewish presence there as Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah from Monday until Wednesday.
The extremist right-wing groups openly call for turning al-Aqsa into a Jewish worship area and tearing down the Islamic shrines in order to build a Jewish temple on the location.
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Hardline 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.
In July, Israeli settlers broke into the compound ahead of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha. Israeli forces also attacked Muslim worshipers, fired tear gas canisters at them, and detained a number of them.
The Israeli regime enables the Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa despite the fact that an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967 prohibits non-Muslim worship at the compound.
Back in early October last year, an Israeli court upheld a ban on Jewish prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, after an earlier lower court’s decision stirred outrage among Palestinians and across the Muslim world.
Judge of the district court in al-Quds Aryeh Romanov on October 8 confirmed that Jews are barred from worshiping openly at the site and only Muslims are permitted to pray there.
In May 2021, frequent acts of violence against Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa 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.
