Palestinians pray after being removed from Al Aqsa Mosque. [Picture: Al Jazeera]
Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem has once again come under fire from occupying Israeli forces as tensions flared in Gaza. Israeli police also cracked down on protesters in several Palestinian towns.
The second raid at the compound came just hours after Israeli police arrested about 400 Palestinians and injured at least a dozen others. Worshippers were attacked with stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets.
Furthermore, dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection on Thursday morning. This was not long after they prevented Muslim worshippers from performing Fajr (morning prayers) at the site.
A worshipper, Fahmi Abbas, described the aggression that unfolded in the dark of night, saying, “The police fired tear gas and stun grenades, it was a scene that I can’t describe … Then, they stormed in and started beating everyone. They detained people and put the young men face down on the ground while they continued beating them.”
Said a spokesperson for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, “Israel’s raid into al-Aqsa mosque, its assault on worshippers, is a slap to recent US efforts which tried to create calm and stability during the month of Ramadan.”
SMread: Israeli forces storm Al Aqsa, attack worshippers
Gaza flare up
Meanwhile, events in Jerusalem triggered a fresh cross-border flare up in Gaza, the world’s largest open-air prison.
Israel pounded the Strip in what officials there claimed was an attempt to destroy Hamas weapons production facilities. Witnesses added that Israeli tanks also shelled Hamas positions along the border fence on the territory’s southern edge.
The altercation sparked fears of escalation that could lead to a full-blown war, similar to that of 2021. Two years ago, clashes at the Al Aqsa Mosque provoked a two-week war in Gaza that left 256 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip and another 28 in the West Bank. A further 2500 were injured.
SMread: Madressah burnt as anti-Muslim violence worsens
Protests after Al Aqsa storming
On Wednesday night, Israeli police were quick to quash protests in several Palestinian towns. At least four Palestinians were arrested in Umm Al-Fahm as protests also occurred in Haifa, Nazareth, Kufr Kanna and Arrabeh.
Police fired stun grenades and teargas at the protestors.
The recent developments also attracted condemnation from the Muslim world, with Saudi Arabia – with whom Israel hopes to normalise ties – saying the latest aggression undermined the peace process.
Malaysia condemned the latest raids in the “strongest terms”. The country also called on the international community to ensure Israel was held accountable.
“The actions by the Israeli forces were unlawful, contemptuous and grossly violating the human rights of the Palestinians and the sanctity of the third holiest shrine in Islam,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China successfully requested an emergency session of the UN Security Council. The closed-door meeting on Thursday will discuss the violence at Al Aqsa Mosque.
In South Africa, Africa4Palestine will hold a protest outside the Johannesburg City Council on International Al Quds Day (April 14). They plan to submit a memorandum to the City of Johannesburg requesting the city to conclude public participation in the renaming of Sandton Drive after Palestinian activist Leila Khaled.
“Peace loving South Africans are fed up with Apartheid Israel,” the group said in a statement. “But we are still shocked at the depravity and inhumane actions that the Israeli regime resorts to – like the violation of sacred holy spaces”.
