File photo: Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa compound
Hundreds of Jewish settlers on Tuesday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to a Palestinian official.
“Three hundred settlers stormed the holy compound and performed Talmudic rituals near the Dome of the Rock Mosque,” Firas al-Dibs, a Palestinian official with Jerusalem’s Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu Agency.
He said settlers were backed by dozens of Israeli policemen, who arrested two authority employees and a Palestinian worshiper.
“The settlers stormed the compound through the Al-Magharbah Gate and stayed for five hours before leaving through the Al-Silsila Gate,” he added.
According to al-Dibs, extremist Jewish groups had called on followers to converge on the Al-Aqsa to mark the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Tension has mounted in the Palestinian territories -- including occupied East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa is located -- since U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount", claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.
At least one Palestinian protester was martyred and 10 others wounded on Monday evening by Israeli soldiers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.In a statement, the ministry said Fayez Abu al-Sadiq, 21, was martyred by Israeli gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip.Hundreds of Palestinians converged along Gaza’s northern border [buffer zone between Gaza and Israel] and set tires on fire as part of the ongoing rallies known as the Great March of Return.The injured persons included a cameraman, who was covering rally for Anadolu Agency.Video: Palestinian martyred by Israeli soldiers in N. GazaMontaser al-Sawaf, the cameraman, said that an Israeli gas bomb hit him in the left leg when he was trying to capture scenes of Israeli army assault on hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators."At the same time when I was hit, my camera was also hit by an Israeli bullet,” he told Anadolu Agency.Sawaf pointed out that the ambulance crew treated him on the ground and described his injury as a "minor" one.Since the latest round of the Palestinian rallies began in late March, scores of Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands injured -- by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its more than 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
Palestinian martyred by Israeli soldiers in N. Gaza
The Arab League on Monday welcomed Spain’s willingness to recognize the state of Palestine.The Spanish move reflects the deep attachment the people and government of Spain have toward the Palestinian cause, the league’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.On Wednesday, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell announced his country's intention to officially recognize the state of Palestine, saying Madrid was now awaiting a unanimous EU resolution in this regard.According to Borrell, his government plans to set a deadline by which the EU should reach consensus on the issue.If the deadline passes without consensus being reached, the foreign minister said, Madrid will unilaterally acknowledge the state of Palestine."The current U.S. administration policies starting with the transfer of its embassy to Jerusalem last May unveiled its complete prejudice to the Israeli agenda. Those policies require all the peace-loving powers to stand by the Palestinians in their legitimate peaceful struggle," the Arab League’s secretary general said.Gheit noted that “such a step will encourage other European countries to follow suit.”Palestine embarked on its current strategy of seeking international recognition as an independent state in 1988 with its declaration of independence.In 2009 and 2010, a second phase of this strategy began, during which a number of capitals formally recognized Palestine as a country.In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status at the world body to a “non-member observer state”.
Arab League hails Spain’s plan to recognize Palestine