JERUSALEM, June 5, 2016 (WAFA) – Extremist Israeli settlers last night attempted to set fire to a Palestinian-owned store in the Old City neighborhood in Jerusalem, according to local sources.
WAFA correspondent said local Palestinian youths were last night able to extinguish a blaze was made by Israeli extremists in a Palestinian-owned store in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Meanwhile on Sunday morning, groups of Israeli settlers and rabbis accompanied by a police escort entered al-Aqsa Mosque Compound to commemorate the 49th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The site has witnessed violent clashes in recent years between Palestinians and Israeli police, most frequently due to provocative visits by Israeli extremists who believe the Mosque should be destroyed and replaced with a Jewish temple.
The site is the third holiest place for Muslims, and has since 1967 been the center of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. While it is widely known as Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jews refer to the site as the “Temple Mount” and believe it was the site of two Jewish temples destroyed in ancient times.
Palestinians worry that if Jewish visitors were allowed to pray in the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, it would eventually lead to a permanent change which will result in full Israeli control and ban on Muslims’ prayer.
According to Minister of Islamic Waqf, Yousef Idueis, more than 100 Israeli violations against the holy sites in Jerusalem and Hebron were reported in May 2016 alone.
M.N
