Israeli settlers storm al-Aqsa mosque after judge ruling

Israeli settlers, under the protection of the regime’s forces, have once again broken into the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the occupied al-Quds to “perform silent prayers,” after an Israeli judge facilitated such moves.

Over 60 settlers stormed the site on Thursday morning when they engaged in measures against Palestinians and shouted anti-Islam slogans, according to Palestinian media.

The settlers entered through the al-Aqsa mosque’s Bab al-Amoud Gate, which is also known as the Damascus Gate.

According to the Quds News Network, a Bahraini delegation also partook in the settlers’ Thursday raid into al-Aqsa Mosque. They performed rituals alongside the settlers and took pictures at al-Buraq Wall.

It came a day after an Israeli court’s decision to grant the settlers the right to “perform silent prayers” on the site.

Under a longstanding guardianship agreement between Israel and Jordan, the latter retains custodianship over Christian and Muslim holy sites in al-Quds and prohibits non-Muslim worship at the site.

However, in defiance of the agreement, Israeli occupation authorities have allowed settler incursions into the mosque since 2003 under the protection of the regime’s forces, despite repeated objections and warnings by the Palestinian religious authorities.

Israeli forces also repeatedly assault and detain Palestinian worshipers at the holy site.

Back in May, repeated acts of violence against Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque led to an 11-day war between Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli regime, during which the regime killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children.

Israeli court: Silent prayer not illegal

In an unprecedented decision on Wednesday, an Israeli judge ruled that silent prayer by Israeli settlers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound was not a “criminal act,” as it would not violate police instructions.

The ruling came after Rabbi Aryeh Lippo filed a case contesting a police ban on his visits and prayers at the compound.

Jordan condemned the decision, stressing that the Islamic Religious Endowments had the sole legal authority to administer the affairs of the compound.

“The decision is a serious violation of the historical and legal status of al-Aqsa Mosque,” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry also denounced the ruling as flagrant aggression against the al-Aqsa mosque.

This decision constitutes a declaration of war against the Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations and an open call to a religious war in the region, it said.

Israel continues land grab

Thursday also marked the second consecutive day that Israeli bulldozers razed Palestinian lands in al-Sawiya village, south of Nablus.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors colonial settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said that the Israeli bulldozers have been razing a large tract of land belonging to the villagers of al-Sawiya along all the way to the lands of the nearby town of Yasuf, Palestine’s official WAFA news agency reported.

The village, along with other Palestinian villages and towns in Nablus and Salfit districts, has been frequently attacked by settlers.

In the village of al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus, five Palestinians were injured as they confronted the pillage of their land, according to local sources.

Daghlas said that the Israeli forces assaulted Nael Awaisa, injuring him in the head before detaining him.

The Israeli soldiers also fired at other villagers who were trying to prevent Israeli bulldozers from razing their land in Wadi Yasuf, injuring four of them with rubber-coated steel bullets.

The bulldozers were laying the groundwork for the construction of a settlers-only road.

According to local sources, Israeli forces detained at least 11 Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank on Thursday.