Director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani on Sunday labeled the Jewish settlers’ raid into the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Bab Al-Asbat gate as a grave violation of the status quo at the holy site.
In a press statement Sheikh al-Kiswani said that he is concerned about allowing Jewish settlers to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Bab Al-Asbat gate for first time since 1967.
“We condemn the Jewish settlers’ incursions into the holy site whether through the al-Asbat or al-Maghariba gates” Sheikh al-Kiswani stressed adding that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims only that does not accept division.
For his part spokesman of the Hamas Movement Hazem Qassem said in press statements that the Jewish settlers have been escalating their raids into the Al-Aqsa and have intensified their provocative rituals at the holy site.
“The Palestinian people and resistance will respond properly to the Israeli provocative policies and plans” Qassem affirmed calling on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and the West Bank to intensify their presence in Al-Aqsa and thwart all Israeli plans aimed at controlling the holy site.
Earlier in the morning at least 280 Jewish settlers escorted by Israeli police broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the al-Asbat gate performing Talmudic rituals according to the ministry of Awqaf.
