Zionist Regime Running Amok

Al-Aqsa Turned Into Garrison at Most Sacred Night

Date: 08 May 2021 - 22:11

News ID: ۹۰۰۲۵

AL-QUDS (Dispatches) -- A day after some of the worst violence in Jerusalem Al-Quds for years saw more than 200 Palestinians and 17 Israeli military officers wounded, Zionist military chief of staff Aviv Kohavi announced on Saturday that troop levels would be bolstered at the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa Moque compound.
The announcement came after war minister Benny Gantz held an assessment of the security situation with senior officials from the military, police and Shin Bet.
At the end of the meeting, the occupying regime’s military said there would be a reinforcement of troop numbers as part of preparations for a potential escalation.
Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai also held a "special” security assessment in light of the recent tensions in occupied Al-Quds.
A police statement said Shabtai ordered commanders, in particular in the Al-Quds area, to "significantly” boost their forces ahead of the most sacred night of Ramadan on Sunday evening and "another series of expected events over the coming days.”
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Arabs in Occupied Palestine were expected to hold mass protests on Saturday in the wake of the Israeli violence in Al-Quds on Friday night.
Saturday saw at least six fires in southern Occupied Palestine caused by balloons carrying incendiary devices.
The demonstrations were set to be held amid heightened tensions in the wake of Friday’s clashes in Al-Quds between Palestinians and Israeli armed forces.
There were widespread clashes and protests in the Al-Aqsa compound following prayers held there on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Footage from the scene showed pitched battles, with Palestinians throwing chairs, shoes, rocks and bottles at Zionist forces who fired stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets.
Security forces arrested at least 13 people in the occupied East Al-Quds on Saturday morning on suspicion of involvement in the protests, the Palestinian Wafa news site reported.
Initial reports indicated further arrests were carried out in the afternoon.
The Hamas resistance movement’s official media outlet said Gaza-based groups were calling for demonstrations near the separation fence on Saturday in protest of Israeli actions in Jerusalem Al-Quds.
According to the Ynet news site, it was thought that protestors will confront Israeli troops at the demonstrations, with comparisons made to the March of the Return protests.
The protests would be in addition to the uptick in balloon-borne incendiary devices launched from the Gaza Strip — recent days have seen over a dozen fires sparked in the area.
Hamas has rejected a message sent by the occupying regime of Israel via Egyptian mediators calling to prevent a further escalation and a potential deterioration into a wide-ranging conflict, a Lebanese newspaper reported on Saturday.
According to the report, Hamas responded that "events on the ground” showed that the Zionist regime does not wish for a de-escalation and that therefore a truce between the sides was unlikely in the near future.
Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh said Friday that the occupying regime of Israel would "pay a price” for the clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.
Islamic Jihad, a resistance movement that often fires retaliatory rockets from Gaza into Zionist targets, also warned the occupying regime over the Al-Aqsa violence.
Additionally, the Arab High Follow-Up Committee, a body that represents Arabs in Occupied Palestine, called for protests in Arab towns and cities across the occupied territories in response to the violence.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that at least 205 Palestinians were wounded in attacks by Zionists throughout Al-Quds on Friday, mostly around the Temple Mount and by Damascus Gate. Eighty-eight Palestinians were hospitalized, mostly for injuries with rubber-coated steel bullets, it said.
Around half of the Israeli injured were hospitalized, with one officer in moderate condition after being struck in the head with a rock.
Anger grew on Saturday with the circulation of a video in which a stun grenade is seen detonating inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, after it was apparently launched into the building by Zionist security forces.
In a second video, apparently filmed earlier on Friday, an Israeli officer was seen throwing a stun grenade toward a crowd that included children.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Saturday the Islamic Republic "strongly condemns” the Israeli raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first Qiblah of Muslims (a place toward which Muslims pray), on Quds Day.
"This war crime once again proved to the world the criminal nature of the illegitimate Zionist regime and the need for urgent international action to stop the violation of the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,” he added.
"In addition to condemning this definite crime against humanity and offering condolences to the families of the martyrs of this incident and wishing a speedy recovery for the wounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran calls on the UN and other relevant international organizations to fulfill their decisive duty against the war crime.”
Khatibzadeh also noted that Iran "proudly stands by the heroic people of Palestine and calls on all world countries, especially Muslim states, to honor their historic task and stand by the Palestinian nation in the face of the Zionist aggressors.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "strongly condemns” Friday’s attack by Israeli forces on Palestinian worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"We call on the Israeli government to put an end to this provocative and aggressive attitude as soon as possible by targeting the freedom of worship of the Palestinian people and the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, and invite them to sanity,” the statement read.
"Turkey will continue to support the just cause of the Palestinian people.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu took to Twitter to say, "It is inhumane for Israel to target innocents praying during Holy Ramadan.”
Qatar said the Israeli raid "was a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world, and a severe violation of human rights and international accords.”
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in a statement that the international community must "move swiftly to end the repeated Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and Al Aqsa mosque.”
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry blasted the mosque attack, calling it a blatant affront to the feelings of Muslims and rules of human rights. It also held Israeli authorities responsible for a dangerous escalation and consequences that may result.
Meanwhile the Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday, saying that "Israel must stop all measures that harm the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The ministry added that "building new settlements or expanding existing ones, expropriating land or deporting Palestinians — this is a violation of international law and reduces the chance of reaching a two-state solution”.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the

highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, condemned the "brutal Zionist terrorism in the light of shameful international silence” toward what is going on in Jerusalem Al-Quds.
The Islamic Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) hailed the steadfastness of Palestinians in Al-Quds in the face of Israeli aggression and plans to displace them from their homes.
IUMS Secretary-General Ali Qaradaghi encouraged the Muslim world to support the Palestinian cause materially and morally, calling it a religious duty and necessity.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry refused to condemn the attack, only saying Israel’s unilateral measures undermine chances to resume "peace” talks. "We reject Israel’s plans and measures to evict Palestinians from their homes in Al-Quds and to impose Israel’s sovereignty on them,” it said.
Tensions have been rising across Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza for the past several weeks.
Earlier Friday, three Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Zionist troops in the northern West Bank. Two of them were killed in the firefight and a third was critically injured. Israeli military officials said the three were en route to carry out a "major” attack inside Israel, with reports saying they were heading for Al-Quds.
A Zionist was shot in a Palestinian reprisal attack in the West Bank on Sunday before he died of his wounds on Wednesday night.
Alert Ahead of Laylat al-Qadr
In recent days, Palestinians have held demonstrations in East Al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Over 70 Palestinian residents are threatened with eviction and could be replaced by right-wing Zionists.
A Zionist court has ordered the families to leave.
Palestinians and their supporters have protested the pending evictions every night for the past week. Police have sought to disperse the protests with sound grenades and water cannons, leading to injuries and arrests.
Additionally, at the beginning of Ramadan, Palestinians repeatedly clashed with Zionist forces in Al-Quds in protest of restrictions at the Damascus Gate area.
Hundreds of Zionist extremists marched through Al-Quds’ downtown, chanting "Death to Arabs.” Others randomly attacked Palestinians across the city. This then led to severe clashes between Zionists and Arabs in the city.
There were also growing fears that tensions in Al-Quds could come to a head on Sunday night, Laylat al-Qadr, the most sacred night in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Worshipers will gather for nighttime prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sunday night is also the start of a holiday for Zionists in which religious extremists hold parades and other celebrations in the city.