Tabnak – As the Zionists’ violence against the Palestinians has been in rise during the recent days, various nations and international institutions express concerns over a possible new wave of killings in the occupied lands. Palestinian leaders have urged for more resistance.
Press TV reported earlier on Wednesday that dozens of Palestinians have been injured as Israeli forces attack protesters gathered outside the main entrance to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The latest round of violence erupted on Tuesday as Israeli troops resorted to force in order to disperse Palestinians demonstrating against the Tel Aviv regime’s restrictive measures at the compound. According to local reports, several reporters and a young child were among those injured.
On Tuesday morning, Israeli authorities removed metal detectors installed at the Bab al-Asbat and Bab al-Nather entrances of al-Aqsa Mosque compound, but kept surveillance cameras to monitor Muslim worshipers.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour urged UN action against Israel's "reckless and destructive agenda” across the occupied Palestinian lands.
The envoy told the Security Council on Tuesday that the al-Aqsa Mosque compound crisis was at a "tipping point," urging the council members to help protect Palestinians and their holy sites from Israel's agenda. Mansour also warned that "the stoking of a religious conflict is rapidly unfolding as Israel persists its illegal actions in occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds)."
On the other hand, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement called for the immediate intervention of Muslim states as well as international bodies to stop the Tel Aviv regime’s Judaization policies at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds.
Hamas spokesman Husam Badran warned in a statement on Tuesday that Israel is seeking to impose a new status quo in the holy site. The statement was issued in condemnation of Israel’s cutting down several trees and removal of historical stones near the Lions' Gate – commonly known by the Arabic name Bab al-Asbat in Arabic – earlier in the day.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015. More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the ongoing tensions since the beginning of October 2015.
The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population. Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is also holy to Jews. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
