Calls for Defending Aqsa Mosque after Israeli Forces Storm the Holy Site
Hanan Awarekeh Readers Number : 407
25/10/2009 Israeli occupation forces broke through the gate of Al Aqsa Mosque Sunday morning which prompted clashes with Arab worshippers. The occupation police threw stun grenades and gas at the worshippers inside.
Israeli occupation Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 12 arrests were made in an around the compound, among them guards working for the Mosque and worshippers, while wounding seven others. He claimed that Arab youth who had thrown stones and a petrol bomb at Israeli police had prompted the clashes. Numerous people sustained bruises and gas inhalation as they were inundated with smoke.
Early Sunday, police had deployed extra occupation troops throughout occupied Jerusalem with restrictions imposed on Palestinian movement and entrance to the Muslim holy site after calls for demonstrations around the holy site that has been the scene of clashes over the past several months. They have surrounded the buildings of the Haram Al Sharif and closed the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque, after Muslim leaders urged Arabs to defend occupied Jerusalem against "Jewish conquest." Witnesses said that some 100 Palestinians remained inside the compound.
Sunday's incidents marked the latest violence to shake the holy site, where any perceived change in the status quo has often led to outbreaks of deadly clashes.
There have been repeated rumors among Palestinians that Israeli extremists are planning on harming the holy site. Earlier in the month, Israeli Police clashed sporadically with Muslim protesters in and around the compound.
LOCAL AND ISLAMIC CALLS TO SLAM ISRAELI BREACH OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE
The Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, warned that "the Israeli occupation bears full responsibility for the negative consequences of this dangerous aggression, which violates every Muslim on the face of the earth."
Kamal Khatib, a spokesman for the Israeli Arab Islamic Movement, which has been at the forefront of recent demonstrations at the compound, blamed police for the clashes. "The police always excuse their attacks by saying that the worshippers threw stones," he told AFP. "It is clear they just want to justify their crimes."
He added that police were stopping busses filled with Muslim worshippers in northern occupied territories in a bid to prevent them from reaching occupied Jerusalem.
The office of Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned of "dangerous consequences" and called on Israel to "halt all provocative acts." "Jerusalem is a red line that cannot be crossed," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. He called on the international community to intervene to "put pressure on the Israeli government."
Palestinian official with Fatah in charge of the occupied Jerusalem file, Hatem Abdel Qader, warned against allowing Israeli extremists to storm Al Aqsa. He said that the Israeli occupation police must take a lesson from events earlier this month.
“Allowing the entry of extremists will create an explosive situation that Israel will bear responsibility for. Things will escalate again,” said Abdel Qader. “Israel should give up any idea that will change the status quo within Al Aqsa Mosque and know that this place will not allow a red line to be crossed.”
For his part, the Mufti of occupied Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, denounced the Israeli incursion into the Mosque and explained that the Israeli occupation forces deployed in the streets of the Old City are there to prevent access to the Muslim holy site.
In turn, the President of the Supreme Council of Awqaf, Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab, asked that Israeli police leave the grounds in order to maintain the sanctity of the Mosque and its grounds, denouncing the use of weapons within a sacred place.
Moreover, The Organization of the Islamic Conference condemned the Israeli police action at the Al Aqsa mosque compound, warning that it could have a "dangerous outcome." "This is a violation of all Muslim sanctuaries," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the OIC, the world's largest Islamic association, said in a statement.
He said "frequent" Israeli breaches of the mosque compound, known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), are "very dangerous and could lead to a negative outcome."
He called on the global Islamic community to take a stand to defend Islamic holy sites, and warned that any damage to the mosque could have "unpredictable consequences" on international peace and security.
Also, Jordan demanded Israeli police stop entering Al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, warning that "dangerous provocations" by the Zionist entity threaten “peace efforts” in the Middle East. Jordan is "deeply concerned" about developments in Al-Aqsa mosque, Information Minister Nabil Sharif said. "Such dangerous provocations obstruct chances for peace and stability in the region," Sharif, who is also government spokesman, added in a statement. "They are illegal. They would create more violence and tension."
Hanan Awarekeh Readers Number : 407
25/10/2009 Israeli occupation forces broke through the gate of Al Aqsa Mosque Sunday morning which prompted clashes with Arab worshippers. The occupation police threw stun grenades and gas at the worshippers inside.
Israeli occupation Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 12 arrests were made in an around the compound, among them guards working for the Mosque and worshippers, while wounding seven others. He claimed that Arab youth who had thrown stones and a petrol bomb at Israeli police had prompted the clashes. Numerous people sustained bruises and gas inhalation as they were inundated with smoke.
Early Sunday, police had deployed extra occupation troops throughout occupied Jerusalem with restrictions imposed on Palestinian movement and entrance to the Muslim holy site after calls for demonstrations around the holy site that has been the scene of clashes over the past several months. They have surrounded the buildings of the Haram Al Sharif and closed the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque, after Muslim leaders urged Arabs to defend occupied Jerusalem against "Jewish conquest." Witnesses said that some 100 Palestinians remained inside the compound.
Sunday's incidents marked the latest violence to shake the holy site, where any perceived change in the status quo has often led to outbreaks of deadly clashes.
There have been repeated rumors among Palestinians that Israeli extremists are planning on harming the holy site. Earlier in the month, Israeli Police clashed sporadically with Muslim protesters in and around the compound.
LOCAL AND ISLAMIC CALLS TO SLAM ISRAELI BREACH OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE
The Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, warned that "the Israeli occupation bears full responsibility for the negative consequences of this dangerous aggression, which violates every Muslim on the face of the earth."
Kamal Khatib, a spokesman for the Israeli Arab Islamic Movement, which has been at the forefront of recent demonstrations at the compound, blamed police for the clashes. "The police always excuse their attacks by saying that the worshippers threw stones," he told AFP. "It is clear they just want to justify their crimes."
He added that police were stopping busses filled with Muslim worshippers in northern occupied territories in a bid to prevent them from reaching occupied Jerusalem.
The office of Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned of "dangerous consequences" and called on Israel to "halt all provocative acts." "Jerusalem is a red line that cannot be crossed," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. He called on the international community to intervene to "put pressure on the Israeli government."
Palestinian official with Fatah in charge of the occupied Jerusalem file, Hatem Abdel Qader, warned against allowing Israeli extremists to storm Al Aqsa. He said that the Israeli occupation police must take a lesson from events earlier this month.
“Allowing the entry of extremists will create an explosive situation that Israel will bear responsibility for. Things will escalate again,” said Abdel Qader. “Israel should give up any idea that will change the status quo within Al Aqsa Mosque and know that this place will not allow a red line to be crossed.”
For his part, the Mufti of occupied Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, denounced the Israeli incursion into the Mosque and explained that the Israeli occupation forces deployed in the streets of the Old City are there to prevent access to the Muslim holy site.
In turn, the President of the Supreme Council of Awqaf, Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab, asked that Israeli police leave the grounds in order to maintain the sanctity of the Mosque and its grounds, denouncing the use of weapons within a sacred place.
Moreover, The Organization of the Islamic Conference condemned the Israeli police action at the Al Aqsa mosque compound, warning that it could have a "dangerous outcome." "This is a violation of all Muslim sanctuaries," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the OIC, the world's largest Islamic association, said in a statement.
He said "frequent" Israeli breaches of the mosque compound, known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), are "very dangerous and could lead to a negative outcome."
He called on the global Islamic community to take a stand to defend Islamic holy sites, and warned that any damage to the mosque could have "unpredictable consequences" on international peace and security.
Also, Jordan demanded Israeli police stop entering Al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, warning that "dangerous provocations" by the Zionist entity threaten “peace efforts” in the Middle East. Jordan is "deeply concerned" about developments in Al-Aqsa mosque, Information Minister Nabil Sharif said. "Such dangerous provocations obstruct chances for peace and stability in the region," Sharif, who is also government spokesman, added in a statement. "They are illegal. They would create more violence and tension."
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