JERUSALEM, July 28, 2015 (WAFA)
– An Israeli Jewish settler Tuesday cursed Prophet Mohammad of Islam during a tour
by Jewish hardliners in Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound, an act deemed highly
disrespectful, prohibited and provocative, according to local sources.
Earlier Monday, settlers
assaulted a Palestinian bus driver identified as Mohammad Barakat from
Jerusalem by spraying pepper gas at his face and body, causing him severe irritation
in his eyes and skin.
This came only two days after dozens
of Muslim worshipers were injured during clashes, which erupted after groups of
Jewish hardliners broke into the Islamic holy site to mark Tisha B’Av holiday.
Clashes at the site on Sunday took
place after Jewish settler groups, known as ‘Temple Mount’ organizations, made
calls urging all Jewish settlers to storm the holy site to mark Tisha B’Av Day,
a Jewish holiday commemorating the destruction of temples according to the
Jewish belief.
The organizations reportedly
demanded that al-Aqsa Mosque compound be entirely closed to Muslims starting
Saturday evening and all day Sunday. They also requested the holy site to be
closed to Muslims during proposed Israeli tour hours from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.
from Monday to Thursday next week.
Prior to this, Israeli police deployed
heavily in and around al-Aqsa following tensions surrounding a video filmed last
Thursday in which a Jewish woman leaving the Temple Mount compound after a
visit was recorded insulting Prophet Mohammad, calling him a “pig.”
In response
to the Israeli escalation of violence at the holy site Sunday, the government
said in a following statement that renewed assaults by Israeli settlers
and police against al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem proves Israel’s intent to drag
the entire region into a religious war.
It said that Israel’s
ongoing attacks against al-Aqsa Mosque was part of Israel’s attempts to divert
international attention away from its ongoing violations against the
Palestinian people, its theft of land and construction of illegal settlements,
and its blockade on Gaza.
M.N/M.H
