Zionists Exploit Normalization to Escalate Al-Aqsa Violations

Date: 16 September 2020 - 21:48

News ID: ۸۲۸۶۳

WEST BANK (Dispatches) – The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas says that the Zionist regime is exploiting normalization with Arab countries to escalate violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, and demolish more Palestinian homes in al-Quds.
"Storming Al-Aqsa Mosque by dozens of Israeli settlers early this morning and the plans of some extremist Jewish groups to carry out mass raids in the Muslim compound on Thursday are the outcomes of normalization deals with the Israeli occupation,” Hamas said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the movement’s spokesperson Abdul-Latif Al-Qanoa said the Zionist regime’s occupation authorities "do not respect peace or diplomacy”.
Al-Qanoa called on Palestinian citizens of al-Quds to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque against the arbitrary measures and policies by the Zionist regime.
Scores of Zionist settlers raided Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday, with so-called Temple Mount groups calling for further raids tomorrow.
In another development, Al-Aqsa mosque compound will be closed from Friday following a spike in coronavirus cases, the authority that administers the city’s Muslim holy places announced.
With cases of the virus on the rise in the Palestinian territories, the Waqf authority held an emergency meeting with health officials.
Waqf members decided to "suspend the entry of worshippers starting from Friday afternoon (September 18) for a period of three weeks”.
"We hope that citizens will understand this procedure, in order to preserve their health and wellbeing,” Waqf member Hatem Abdel Qader told AFP.
The call to prayer will continue to ring out across al-Quds’ Old City, Qader said, while Waqf employees will be allowed to pray at the site.
Jordan is the custodian of the compound, known by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Holy Sanctuary, and as the Temple Mount by Jews.
It is only the second time that the Waqf has decided to close the compound since the Zionist regime occupied east al-Quds in the Six-Day War of 1967.
The Waqf shut the compound at the onset of the pandemic in March, when sweeping closures upended religious life in a way not seen for centuries.