Israel had for long prepared for attack on al-Aqsa Mosque: Fatah

Israel had for long prepared for the assault on al-Aqsa Mosque, says the spokesman for the Palestine National Liberation Movement (Fatah).

In a press statement on Sunday, Fatah censured Israel’s latest acts of violence against Palestinian worshippers in al-Aqsa Mosque, dismissing Israel’s narrative that the Palestinians set the scene by throwing stones on Friday morning.

Jamal Nazzal, the spokesman, says the Israeli violence against the Palestinians in al-Quds is likely to destabilize the whole region and beyond. “Israel’s violent actions against our civilians are part of a plan and not a reaction to anything Palestinians were doing in the early morning of last Friday.”

“How could several hundred Israeli policemen and soldiers be ready for an allegedly spontaneous reaction to Palestinians throwing stones inside the mosque at 5 a.m. before sunrise? Why would any Palestinian be throwing stones in any direction if there were no police forces inside the Mosque to disturb, insult and provoke them by violent actions?” Nazzal said.

“What Israel is doing now is particularly dangerous,” the Fatah official said, “since it has been designed to serve” the regime’s interest in order for the prime minister to use the escalation to help him stay in power.

Fatah also called on the European Union (EU) to exert its leverage on Israel to stop its atrocities.

More Palestinians injured as Israeli forces, settlers raid Aqsa Mosque

At least 19 Palestinian worshippers have been injured after Israeli settlers stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied al-Quds amid a heavy military deployment of Israeli occupation forces.

Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicenter of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. Clashes at the site last year gave rise to an 11-day Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, at least 19 Palestinians were injured in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound when Israeli regime forces raided the mosque.

In a statement, the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement warned the regime against the repercussions of its latest atrocities.

“Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line and the occupying Israeli regime is responsible for assaults on worshipers and allowing occupiers to desecrate the site. We hold Israel responsible for attacks against worshipers inside al-Aqsa Mosque and the inevitable consequences.”

The Israeli regime’s recent violent episode has also provoked an international outcry.

Lebanese and Yemeni resistance groups have deplored the regime’s “terrorism machine.” Morocco has expressed “firm condemnation” of the violations in al-Quds, while the Syrian government has criticized the international community’s “doubtful silence” on the matter and the “unjustified inaction” of international organizations in the face of the Israeli violations.

Israeli forces storm al-Aqsa Mosque, injure scores of worshipers on 2nd Ramadan Friday

Israeli forces have injured at least 150 Palestinian worshipers in a new round of violence at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds.

In Washington, Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, both Muslim lawmakers, posted tweets on Friday, condemning the violent storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

And across the Muslim world, mass rallies have been held in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.

In Turkey’s most populous city of Istanbul, protesters converged outside the Israeli consulate early on Saturday, waving Palestinian flags and calling for Arab and international support for the al-Aqsa worshippers. In the Jordanian capital of Amman, hundreds of people demonstrated near the Israeli embassy to show support for Palestinians chanting, “No Zionism on the Jordanian soil!” and “The Jordanian people are against the normalization [of relations with Israel]!”

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry and anti-terror resistance groups have also voiced denunciation of the desecration of al-Aqsa. In Algeria, a statement issued by the ministry of foreign affairs underscored “the need to provide full protection for Muslim worshipers, and to allow them to perform rituals” at the site. It also called on the international community and the UN Security Council, in particular, to “assume their responsibilities, put an end to the aggressive provocations, and ensure the protection of Palestinians and their holy sites.”

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