Israeli occupation forces have desecrated the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem, al-Quds, attacking Muslim congregants as they converged for early morning prayers.
Footage shows how soldiers smashed the upper windows of the mosque before launching their attack on unarmed worshipers inside.
Armed in riot gear, Zionist troops staged a mass incursion onto the Holy site, which incorporates the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Dome of the Rock, entering from the Mughtrabi(Moroccan) Gate and randomly attacking fasting congregants with rubber bullets and sound bombs.
The Palestinian Red Crescent has reported at least 150 injured in the brutal assault. Arab media sources say more than 450 Palestinian worshipers have been kidnapped and are being detained by the illegal Zionist regime.
The provocative desecration and attack comes as Muslims marked the second Friday or Jumuah of the Holy Month of fasting, Ramadaan.
It has sparked outrage across Palestine.
https://youtu.be/KmOHewX2flM
Extended footage: Israeli attack on al-Aqsa Mosque
Act of War
“What is happening, the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the entry of the occupation forces into the mosque is a dangerous development and a sacrilege, and it is tantamount to declaring war on our Palestinian people.” said Nabil Abu Rodeinah, official spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency.
Resistance reaction
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas saluted Palestinians in Jerusalem for their steadfastness and heroic defence of al-Aqsa.
Hamas Spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum noted; “Our people in Jerusalem are not alone in the Al-Aqsa battle, but with them are all our Palestinian people and their valiant resistance and their living forces, and behind them are the free sons of the nation.”
Resistance movement, Islamic Jihad meanwhile identified the assault as a “failed attempt by the occupation to empty Al-Aqsa Mosque with the aim of desecrating it by terrorist settlers”.
But it warned that the Zionist enemy “will realize that the fire that it ignites with its blind hatred will return to it”.
The attack coincides with the Jewish Passover festival. Extremist Zionist settlers planned to storm the Haram al-Sharif which they claim is the site of their lost temple.
FRIDAY JUMU’AH UPDATE
The Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque called for people to travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to perform the Friday congregation prayers and defend it
Worshipers were reported continuing to congregate at Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Friday prayers despite the repressive measures of the armed occupier
Palestinian national and Islamic movements called for mass rallies after Friday prayers and to head towards Qalandia checkpoint
Possibility of escalation
If the Israeli occupying regime does not halt its attack on al-Aqsa and Palestinians in Jerusalem, resistance movements have warned of a broader escalation as occurred last Ramadaan when Israel also launched attacks on the al-Aqsa mosque.
Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh highlighted there are only two options; either the occupation, oppression and sacrifices in Al-Aqsa Mosque, or the consolidation of the Islamic identity of Al-Quds and its Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He concluded, “The Palestinian people and the Islamic nation are the ones who decide, and our decision is to defend and protect the blessed Al-Aqsa.”
https://youtu.be/c_EIYD9sa8M
Palestinians conduct cleanup of Haram al-Sharif after Israeli attack
Source: Radio 786, with reporting from al-Mayadeen TV, al-Manar TV, Palestine Today
