WEST BANK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Hamas Movement has affirmed that the Israeli closure of the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil constitutes a dangerous provocation and a blatant assault on the sanctity of holy sites.
Hamas stressed that this desperate attempt will not confer any legitimacy on the occupation of these sacred places.
In a statement issued Friday evening, Hamas issued an urgent appeal to the Arab and Islamic nations, calling for immediate action to protect the first the Qibla, the third holiest site in Islam, and all Islamic and Christian holy places in Palestine from the Israeli Judaization plans.
Israeli occupation police closed the Aqsa Mosque early Friday “until further notice,” following the declaration of a state of emergency by the Israeli Home Front Command.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli police stormed the courtyards of Aqsa Mosque after the dawn prayer, preventing worshipers from remaining in the Mosque compound.
Police forces also raided the internal prayer halls, forcibly removing worshipers and closing the Mosque’s gates.
These aggressive Israeli measures come amid an unprecedented worsening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, particularly since the Israeli forces closed all border crossings on March 2nd, while continuing their devastating war on the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
This ongoing assault, fully backed by the United States, has resulted in the killing and injury of more than 182,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children. In addition, over 11,000 people remain missing, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced amid widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, medicine, and shelter.
