Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard, perform prayers
Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard in occupied Jerusalem and performed prayers under the protection of the Israeli army.
The Islamic Waqf, which oversees Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, said 126 settlers stormed the courtyards of the compound under the protection of the Israeli army, the Wafa news agency reported.
Footage obtained by Al Jazeera Arabic shows them performing prayers at the site, which is the third holiest in Islam.
Israeli police also tightened their security measures around Jerusalem’s Old City, Wafa added.
Palestine warns against Al-Aqsa Mosque provocations
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has warned against Israeli incitement for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its replacement with a Jewish temple, saying such rhetoric is accompanied by an escalation in the storming of the compound.
The comment comes as a group of Israeli settlers entered the compound and performed prayers in the mosque’s courtyard under the protection of the Israeli army. The ministry said Israeli groups were circulating calls for the destruction of the Muslim holy site under the slogan “soon in these days”.
Mahmoud al-Habbash, adviser on religious and Islamic affairs to the Palestinian Authority, warned that such rhetoric would ignite a religious war for which the world would pay the price.
In a statement, al-Habbash called on the international community to put an end to the violations perpetrated by Israel in the compound before they spiral out of control.
Israeli forces stopping medics from reaching Tulkarem: PRCS
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says Israeli forces are blocking its emergency medics from entering Tulkarem to rush people to the hospital “despite prior coordination”.
As we’ve been reporting, Israeli forces are carrying out a violent raid in Tulkarem, busting into homes and deploying snipers on rooftops. Earlier, an aerial attack killed at least three people in the city.
🚨The Israeli occupation forces are preventing Palestine Red Crescent Society EMS teams from entering #Tulkarm camp to transport patients to the hospital, despite prior coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
📷Photographer: Issam Rimawi#IHL #NotATarget… pic.twitter.com/vk5nb8Wj61
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) September 12, 2024
Israel continues largest military operation in decades across West Bank
Israeli forces returned overnight to Tulkarem and Tubas after pulling out of Jenin, Tulkarem and Far’a last Friday. We can talk of a resumption of the military assault launched by the Israeli forces on August 28, which is the largest military operation in the past 20 years.
The levels of destruction in Tulkarem and Nur Shams are extraordinary, according to Palestinians talking to us from there.
At least four people have been killed and three of them have yet to be identified as their bodies were charred.
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian homes near Nablus: Report
A group of Israeli settlers has stormed into the Palestinian town of Yatma near Nablus and attacked locals’ homes, the Wafa news agency reports.
The settlers also set fire around the residences, Wafa said.
Israeli settler attacks have been on the rise in the occupied West Bank during the Gaza war. From October 7 to September 9, Israeli settlers carried out at least 1,350 attacks against Palestinians, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). About 270 of the attacks caused casualties, the OCHA data show.
