Ben-Gvir, Settlers Storm Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Staff, Agencies

Hundreds of “Israeli” settlers have stormed the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in A-Quds to mark “Israel’s” occupation of the city's eastern sector following the 1967 Six-Day War.

They waved the flags of the occupying entity and performed Talmudic rituals in the mosque's courtyards on Monday commemorating the so-called “Jerusalem” Day.

Extremist “Israeli” minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among those intruding into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Every year, “Israeli” settlers mark the event by marching through the streets of al-Quds and its occupied Old City, including the predominantly Arab neighborhoods, to the Western Wall.

The participants regularly assault, attack, and harass Palestinians, shouting inflammatory slogans.

Last year’s march saw several attacks on Palestinians and journalists by marchers, who chanted anti-Arab refrains, plastered stickers on shuttered shops, and called for the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

The “Israeli” occupation police said on Sunday that they were deploying thousands of officers across Al-Quds.

The provocative settler intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound takes place at a time when “Israel” keeps its bloody war machine running in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Palestinian Hamas resistance group said Ben-Gvir's storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque represents a "flagrant violation" of its sanctity and a "desperate attempt" by “Israel” to Judaize the holy site.

It also affirmed that Palestinian people will keep defending the al-Aqsa Mosque and thwarting the Zionist schemes for the holy site's division or Judaization.

The Gaza-based resistance group further called on Palestinians to intensify their presence at the Mosque, and confront the settlers' intrusions and rampages.

"We also urge the free people of our Arab and Islamic nation to uphold their responsibilities toward protecting the holy Mosque, support the resilience of our people in Al-Quds who face displacement attempts, and work to stop the occupation's aggression against our people and holy sites," Hamas added.