Alwaght- Scores of extremist Zionist settlers, escorted by the Israeli regime’s forces, desecrated al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Wednesday morning.
The Islamic Awqaf (Endowment) Department in al-Quds announced that 42 Zionist settlers stormed the holy site as part of the morning desecration shift which lasts for three hours and a half.
According to the Awqaf source, the settlers entered the Mosque via al-Maghareba Gate and conducted a round of sacrilegious tours before leaving through al-Silsila Gate.
Meanwhile, Zionist fanatic groups called for stepping up desecrations at Muslims’ holy al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday.
At the same time, the peaceful Muslim worshipers have been subjected to tough crackdowns and restrictions by the Israeli regime’s police near the main entrances to the site. Several worshipers have been searched and dozens more have had their IDs seized while attempting to enter al-Aqsa to perform their daily prayers. Early January Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, the director-general of the Jordanian-run Waqf agency (mandated with overseeing al-Quds’ Islamic sites), said incursions into the holy site by "Jewish extremists” had reached its “highest number ever” with 25,630 recorded last year alone. In 2016, there were more than 15,000 sacrilegious incursions by Zionist settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to Palestinian figures.
Palestinians and Muslims all over the world are extremely angry at Israeli attacks on the al-Aqsa Mosque, considering them the desecration of the holy Islamic site
Palestinians have declared al-Quds as the capital of a future Palestinian independent state, and that its heritage should remain intact.
The situation in al-Quds escalated last December when US President Donald Trump sparked global anger on December 6, by declaring that Washington would recognize al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by a decisive vote of 128 to 9 to urge Trump to reverse his contentious decision.
