OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Hamas Movement has strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards by Jewish settlers on Thursday, led by far-right Knesset member Tzvi Sukkot, who performed religious rituals within the compound.
Hamas described the act as a continuation of Israel’s desperate attempts to Judaize Islamic holy sites and seize control over them.
Sukkot, a member of the Religious Zionism party, was seen performing a so-called “heroic prostration” near the Dome of the Rock, in a widely circulated video. The act was met with open praise from Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who claimed this display of Jewish worship at the site was unprecedented in three decades and attributed it to his leadership.
In a press statement, Hamas described Ben-Gvir as a “terrorist minister” who boasts about his role in increasing violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Movement affirmed that all Israeli measures imposed on Palestinian land and holy sites will ultimately end with the demise of the occupation.
“Such actions will not succeed in altering the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa,” the statement read.
Hamas called on the Arab and Islamic nations to rise in support of Palestinians who remain steadfast in defense of the holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa, which is revered as the first Qibla of Muslims.
The Movement also urged the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take urgent steps to protect Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa from the threat of Judaization and to confront the unprecedented violations being committed by Israeli authorities against the Palestinian people, their land, and both Islamic and Christian holy sites.
The incident, which occurred on the fifth day of the Jewish Passover holiday, comes amid a surge of settler incursions into the Mosque compound. Thousands of settlers have entered the holy Islamic site throughout the week in response to calls from Israeli right-wing groups to mark the holiday through mass visits and religious rites at the compound, which remains under Israeli occupation in violation of international law.
