Israeli police ban Aqsa guards from entering the mosque assaulting dozens of Muslim worshipers

Israeli police ban Aqsa guards from entering the mosque assaulting dozens of Muslim worshipers

16 July 2017

News Agencies

The Israeli police informed on Sunday the guards of al-Aqsa Mosque that they are not allowed to enter the holy site, according to the Public Relations Department at al-Aqsa Mosque.

Meanwhile, the PIC reporter said that the Israeli police assaulted dozens of Jerusalemite citizens and Islamic Awqaf officials who performed noon prayer at al-Asbat Gate and refused to enter al-Aqsa Mosque through the new metal detectors installed at the entrances of the site.

For his part, Chief Judge of Jerusalem, Sheikh Wasif al-Bakri, called for allowing Muslim worshipers to perform their prayers freely at al-Aqsa Mosque, rejecting the new security measures and describing them as a "violation of the status quo".

In the same context, the Israeli authorities started Sunday to gradually reopen the Old City of Jerusalem.

A local source reported that in the past two days the Old City remained shuttered to the Palestinians who do not reside the area, while on Sunday afternoon, the Israeli police allowed other Jerusalem residents to enter the Old City.

Palestinians of the 1948 occupied territories and the West Bank who have permits are still banned from entering the city.

Hamas pushes for mass protests over Israeli aggressions at Aqsa Mosque

Hamas on Sunday called on the Palestinian masses to intensify protests in response to the Israeli crimes against Occupied Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.

Hamas stressed the need for an urgent reaction gerarding the Israeli aggressions on al-Aqsa Mosque and crackdowns on the Muslim worshipers, which it said breach Muslims’ sovereignty over the site.

Hamas urged the Palestinians to intensify presence across flashpoints with the Israeli occupation so as to speak up against its incessant crimes against al-Aqsa and other sacred places of worship.

Hamas further called on the Palestinian Authority (PA), chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, to take serious steps so as to impeach Israel for its violations in Occupied Jerusalem.

Hundreds of Muslim worshipers performed Sunday’s noon prayers near al-Asbat Gate, outside holy al-Aqsa Mosque, after they refused to enter the site via metal detectors set up by the Israeli forces.

Reporting from the scene, a PIC news correspondent said members of Jerusalem’s Awqaf Department and dozens of Muslim worshipers refused to enter al-Aqsa Mosque through the metal detectors installed by the Israeli occupation forces.

On Friday, the Israeli occupation forces banned Muslim prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam—following a shootout between three Palestinian anti-occupation youths. The gunfight claimed the lives of the three Palestinians. Two Israeli soldiers were pronounced dead.

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