JERUSALEM, July 12, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers on Tuesday resumed their provocative visits to al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and attempted to perform rituals, amid calls by Jewish organizations urging followers to raid the site.
WAFA correspondent said about 200 settlers accompanied by policemen entered the compound in groups, and attempted to perform Jewish rituals and Talmudic prayers in honor of an Israeli woman and a rabbi who were recently killed near Hebron.
Witnesses told WAFA that extremist Jewish rabbi Yehuda Glick has since early morning Tuesday been managing the entry of the settlers to the holy site.
Worshipers who were present at the site chanted religious slogans in defiance of the entering settlers.
This came after “Temple Mount” groups called upon their followers to enter the holy site on Tuesday as a symbol of “honor” to the woman and the rabbi.
Last year, tension ran high across the West Bank, including Jerusalem, against the backdrop of Israel’s repeated assaults on the Mosque, including attempts to enforce a unilateral temporal division of the Islamic holy site between Muslims and Jews.
Prior to unrest in early October 2015, the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor pointed out in a report that Israeli incitement and violations against Arabs in Jerusalem have increased dramatically in 2015.
The report, titled “Fire under the Ashes: Provoking Muslims in Jerusalem,” warned that Israeli incitement against Muslims could trigger a conflict that would likely result in disastrous consequences.
“Among the provocative acts documented by Euro-Med researchers against Palestinians in Jerusalem were performance of Talmudic prayers near Muslim worshippers, beating, throwing rubbish, cursing, death threats and preventing worshippers from reaching the mosque,” the report said.
M.N