Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Israeli Knesset member joins hundreds of settlers in storming Al-Aqsa Mosque

A hardline member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) is reported to have joined the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli settlers that we reported on earlier.

The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said at least 1,650 Israeli settlers entered Islam’s third-holiest site under the protection of Israeli police.

According to the statement, Knesset member Zvi Sukkot, from the far-right Religious Zionist Party, also forced his way into the flashpoint site and performed a religious ritual called an “epic prostration”, drawing praise from Israel’s recently reappointed national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.


_{A drone view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound}


Palestinian foreign ministry says Ben-Gvir’s statements point to Israeli plans for Jerusalem

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that Israel’s recently reappointed National Security Minister Ben-Gvir’s continuous calls for settlers to intensify their raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque constitute further evidence of a plan to “change the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem”.

The ministry warned this included “attempts to separate it from its Palestinian surroundings and impose a new reality”, including building a synagogue in place of the mosque, which is Islam’s third-holiest site.

“This requires a firm and urgent international response,” it added, stressing that the escalating tensions should be dealt “with utmost seriousness”.

The statement comes hours after hundreds of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Some performed a religious ritual called an “epic prostration”, drawing praise from Ben-Gvir.