Israeli occupation forces brutally attacked and arrested hundreds of Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque on the second Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli occupation police stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Bab Al-Asbat gate on Friday morning, attacking worshipers barricaded there, firing tear gas and stun grenades against Palestinians who responded with throwing stones.
More than 150 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli occupation forces who used live fire, Palestine Today quoted sources and witnesses as saying, noting that IOF were hindering the access of ambulances and aid workers to the scene of the attack.
Medical sources reported that among the injured there were at least two in critical condition.
At least seven of the injured were hit in their upper bodies by Israeli fire, the sources noted.
Meanwhile, Pal Today quoted sources as saying that 450 of the Palestinians who were defending Al-Aqsa were arrested by occupation police.
Occupation forces were also seen at the roofs of the holy compound.
Tensions have been high in Al-Quds on the eve of the Jewish Passover on Friday night, when Zionist settlers are planning the so-called animal sacrifice at the holy compound, an unprecedented move that seen highly provocative by Palestinians.
Commenting on the Israeli aggression, different Islamic and national Palestinian groups called on Palestinian people to hurry to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine warning the Israeli occupation against moves that could be seen as a “detonator” to the situation in Al-Quds.
Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani said during Friday sermon at the holy compound that the message delivered by the Palestinians barricaded in Al-Aqsa oday was that “we want to strengthen the Arab and Muslim identity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
For his part, Former Al-Quds Mufti Ikrima Sabri slammed Arab and Muslim silence regarding the events in Al-Aqsa, saying the holy mosque “is being desecrated and abandoned amid Islamic silence.”
Videos circulated on social media and Telegram channels recorded the Israeli aggression on Al-Aqsa, with scenes showing Palestinian worshipers on the ground of the mosque with their hands cuffed.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
