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Evident desecration: Israeli settlers drink alcohol, urinate in al-Aqsa Mosque

Friday, 20 January 2023 4:51 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 20 January 2023 5:18 PM ]

A screengrab from a video shows Israeli settlers drinking in desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque, January 19, 2023.

Newly-released footage shows Israeli settlers drinking alcohol and urinating in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East al-Quds.

According to footage published by the Middle East Monitor on Friday, two settlers are seen taking alcoholic drinks and another one urinating at a corner of the holy place.

The blatant acts of desecration come in continuation of Israeli provocations at the Muslims’ third holiest site.

Dozens of settlers stormed the mosque compound late on Thursday under the protection of Israeli forces. According to eyewitnesses, the radical settlers raised Israeli flags and performed provocative dances inside the vicinity.

The resistance movement Hamas called upon Palestinians from all walks of life to mobilize en masse, increase presence at the mosque’s compound, and protect the sacred site against recurrent incursions by Israeli settlers. “We hail the Palestinian people in occupied Palestinian territories and across the West Bank who stand steadfast against the Israeli occupation violations and crimes,” it said in a statement.

Hamas also called on the Arab and Muslim Ummah, along with the free people of the world, to “support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and work toward protecting them against the Israeli occupation’s violations.”

Israeli settlers storm al-Aqsa Mosque, perform provocative dances

Israeli settlers raise Israeli flags and perform provocative dances inside al-Aqsa Mosque.

The new wave of desecration comes as one of the most far-right cabinets have taken control of Israel, raising fears of probable attempts to change the status quo of al-Aqsa Mosque. Extremist right-wing groups have openly called 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.

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 issue has been a major flash point between the Israeli occupation and Palestinians for decades. It was the epicenter of the 2000-2005 Palestinian Intifada, also known as the Uprising.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

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