Abbas calls on Fatah to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on his Fatah members on Friday to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent Jewish settlers from “desecrating” it, Arabs 48 website reported.

Speaking at a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, he said: “It is not enough to watch settlers entering into the mosque, they must be prevented.”

“It is our scared place,” he said, “Al-Aqsa Mosque is ours. This Noble Sanctuary is ours. They have no right to go there and desecrate it.”

He called for the Palestinians to unite to stop the “desecration” of the mosque. “It is not enough to say that there are guards for Al-Aqsa, but Fatah, which was established in 1965, must continue its message, liberate the land and protect the holy sites,” he said.

Abbas’ remarks came after Palestinian worshipers were prevented from entering the mosque and tours for Israeli settlers were secured instead.

One Palestinian boy was killed in clashes between the Israeli army and Jerusalemites who protested against the settlers’ desecration of the mosque. Dozens were wounded and others arrested.

Abbas insisted that defending Al-Aqsa was equal to defending Jerusalem, which the Palestinians are demanding as the capital of their future state.

“Jerusalem is the jewel in the crown and it is the eternal capital of the Palestinian state. Without it there will not be a state,” he said.