JERUSALEM, February 23, 2012 (WAFA) – Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh Thursday condemned ongoing provocations by Israeli settlers and extremists at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Israeli police Thursday allowed dozens of Jewish extremists on al-Aqsa Mosque yards in spite of tension in the area, leading to confrontations with Palestinian worshipers and the arrest of four people.

Abu Rudeineh told WAFA that “this is a dangerous and provocative escalation that will have serious consequences.”

He held the Israeli authorities responsible for this escalation, calling upon the international community to intervene and force the Israeli authorities to stop these provocative acts which violate freedom of worship.

Israeli police allowed 65 extremist Jews on al-Aqsa yards, which provoked the Palestinian worshipers who responded by chanting religious slogans at the extremists leading to confrontations between them and the Israeli police.

Police had prevented entrance of hundreds of Palestinians who gathered in front of the Mosque to protect it following calls by a group of settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement, near Hebron, to ascend to the “Temple Mount” and “purify” it from Muslims and to break into al-Aqsa Mosque to perform religious rituals marking the beginning of the lunar month.

T.R./M.S.