Hamas slams Israel settlers storming Al-Aqsa Mosque

Hamas yesterday condemned the Israeli settlers for storming Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, saying the move provokes Muslims everywhere, Anadolu reported.

Over 2,250 illegal settlers forced their way into the Muslim holy site yesterday to commemorate Tisha B’Av, an annual Jewish day of fasting that marks the occurrence of several disasters in Jewish history.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf were among the intruders.

In a statement issued, Hamas said the repeated incursions by Jewish settlers into Islam’s third holiest site and performing Jewish prayers will not succeed in Judaising it, imposing a new reality on it or tampering with its Arab and Islamic identity.

The movement warned that the Israeli extremist government’s provocative behaviour and the genocidal war waged in Gaza, the terrorism practised against Palestinians in the West Bank, and the systematic violations in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque directly threaten regional and international peace and security.

Hamas called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to take serious action to stop these systematic violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque and to stop the Israeli crime of Judaisation against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and all of occupied Palestine.

READ: Arab countries condemn Israel settler incursion at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque