Attacking worshippers and desecrating the A Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan has become a permanent feature for lawless Israel which plans to destroy the mosque and build in its place Solomon’s Temple.
As part of this ongoing conspiracy Israeli police smashed doors and windows to enter Masjid Al Aqsa and mercilessly attacked worshippers turning a night of worship this week into a night of brutality and barbarity.
They fired rubber-coated bullets, tear gas and stun grenades as worshippers were performing the Taraweeh, special night prayer during Ramadan, before violently attacking worshippers inside the mosque which is the third most holiest in Islam after the holy mosques in Makka and Madina.
A resident of the Old City told Middle East Eye that the sound of screams during the raid could be heard everywhere. The initial raid started around 10pm on Tuesday when police officers were first spotted entering Al-Aqsa. They began by removing people from the courtyards of the mosque. Dozens of worshippers had stayed there to practice Itikaf after tens of thousands attended the earlier Taraweeh night prayer.
Hundreds of Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Qibli hall – the building with the silver dome – to perform the contemplative prayer of Itikaf, a non-mandatory religious practice that is common during Ramadan, when worshippers stay inside mosques overnight to pray, reflect and recite the Quran.
Israeli troops stormed the thousand year old Qibli mosque and threw Palestinians to the ground, stomped on them, and bound their hands behind their backs triggering retaliatory rocket fire from militants in Gaza.
Palestinian witnesses described the beatings and violence Israeli forces meted out on worshippers was far worse than the online footage had shown. According to Palestinian media number of worshippers allowed to enter the mosque, was brought down from 80,000 people on Tuesday to 20,000
Temple Movement groups, which facilitate the settler incursions and advocate for the destruction of Al-Aqsa, have called for mass storming throughout the week-long Passover holiday. However Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic site where unsolicited visits, prayers and rituals by non-Muslims are forbidden, according to decades-long international agreements.
Source – Latheef Farook
