Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has urged Arab and Muslim leaders to take practical steps to end the Israeli assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem (al-Quds).

On Sunday, Haniyeh, who is the democratically elected prime minister of Palestine, asked Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to arrange for an emergency meeting of the OIC to discuss the attacks on Islam’s third holiest shrine.

He also called on Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa, and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faysal to take practical steps to protect Al-Aqsa.

Following the deployment of hundreds of security forces by Israel in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque early on Sunday, clashes broke out between the Palestinians and the Israeli forces. At least 30 Palestinians were injured and 20 arrested.

"It was the first time the Israeli army locked the gates of the mosque with chains, barring the call to prayer, breaking into its yards for long periods of time," Hamas Political Bureau chief Khaled Mashaal said in remarks denouncing the Israeli attack.

(Press TV)