Knesset member calls for building of synagogue in Al-Aqsa courtyard

Israeli Knesset member, Mordechai Eugev, has called for a Jewish synagogue to be built in the southern part of the Aqsa Mosque courtyard.

A statement from the Aqsa Foundation for Heritage and Islamic Endowments said that Israel’s campaign against Al-Aqsa Mosque has been continuous and provocative. The latest chapter in this saga is the article published by Eugev, in which he called for a synagogue to be built in the courtyard of the Mosque.

Eugev is a member of the Israeli extremist party, the Jewish Home, which is led by Naftali Bennett.

In a related incident, on Wednesday morning about 60 Israeli settlers descended on the Mosque’s courtyard. They were accompanied by a large number of police who provided security for their incursion. Witnesses said they performed religious and Talmudic rituals in several areas of the courtyard.

On Tuesday morning, a Jewish group called ‘The Coalition for the Temple’ called for the storming of the Mosque on Thursday in order to celebrate what they call ‘the anniversary of the Torah descending.’

During their incursions, the settlers distributed copies of a detailed map of the Mosque on which the so-called Temple is clear to see.

The deputy of the Islamic movement in Palestine, Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib, described the repeated recent Israeli aggressions against the Mosque as “an unprecedented escalation – both quantitatively and qualitatively.”

Al-Khatib also said that the remarks made by Eugev regarding the freedom to storm the Mosque constituted a political green-light for Israeli aggression.