Dozens of Muslim worshippers were arrested or hurt on Sunday early morning as Israeli occupation forces launched a new raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The latest raid, which is the second in less than 48 hours, comes amid calls by extremist Israeli Jewish organizations, which urge fans for a mass provocative visit to the mosque during the Passover holiday.
An #Israeli soldier brutally attacks a #Palestinian father in front of his child during a military raid at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
(Video: Quds Feed) pic.twitter.com/U6hVp0pZgX
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 17, 2022
The Passover coincides with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a time when thousands of Muslims, predominantly Palestinians, usually stay at the holy site for worship day and night.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics treated at least ten injuries following the Israeli raid on the holy site, of whom three were admitted to hospital.
A large number of #Israeli soldiers brutally attack and arrest a #Palestinian father in occupied #Jerusalem in front of his children. (Video: Times of #Gaza) pic.twitter.com/zC1h488cnh
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 17, 2022
WAFA correspondent added that Israeli forces chased the worshippers and fired stun grenades and teargas randomly to empty the holy site of its Muslim worshipers in order to secure the entry of Israeli Jewish settlers wishing to celebrate Passover inside the courtyards of the mosque.
At least three arrests were reported among the Palestinian worshippers, said the WAFA correspondent.
The UK-based UK-based NGO Friends of Al-Aqsa (FoA) strongly condemned the Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa in a statement released on Sunday, a copy of which was sent to The Palestine Chronicle.
“The two brutal attacks on Masjid Al-Aqsa in the last 48 hours, including attacks on unarmed Palestinian worshippers and the storming of over 500 Israeli settlers, are inhumane,” FoA chair Ismail Patel said in the statement.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine held a solidarity event in #Gaza in commemoration of the forthcoming Palestinian Prisoner’s Day and in solidarity with Palestinians in the northern West Bank city and refugee camp of #Jenin.
Read more https://t.co/wLO4FyjqrW pic.twitter.com/CpzLQaI14a
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 17, 2022
“They are part of the ongoing illegal occupation and apartheid policies of the state of Israel. If worshippers, journalists, medics and others had been brutally attacked at any other of the world’s holiest sites, the world would be in an uproar,” Patel added.
“We call for sanctions to be imposed on Israel. We also request that individuals boycott all Israeli products and goods. NGOs and civil societies should lobby their respective governments to hold Israel to account.”
(The Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
