It also denounced a “blatant attack on worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, by firing poison-gas bombs and tear gas at them inside its courtyards, which led to the injury and arrest of hundreds of them, in violation of all international norms, laws and human values.”
Israeli forces prevented thousands of people from the West Bank from entering the occupied city of Jerusalem to pray at the mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Soldiers “imposed restrictions on the entry of worshippers into Al-Aqsa Mosque, checked the identities of young men at the entrances to the Old City and the doors of the mosque, and prevented a number of them from entering,” the agency said.
Fighting broke out in the Bab Al-Asbat area between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians who were on their way to pray. At least three men, whose names have not been revealed, were arrested.
Meanwhile Israeli forces fired tear gas into crowds of thousands of worshippers at the mosque after dawn prayers, the news agency reported. At least five men were arrested.
Israeli police said 3,600 officers were deployed in East Jerusalem on Friday amid expectations that tens of thousands of people would travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray on the last Friday of the holy month.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation called on the international community to live up to its responsibilities by urging Israel to halt “all its repeated violations of freedom of worship and the sanctity of the holy places in occupied Jerusalem, stressing the necessity of preserving the existing historical and legal status in blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
It also reiterated the need to fully implement all UN resolutions to help end “the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and ensure the access of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip.”
The second day of the Jewish holiday of Purim saw a surge in tension as dozens of extremist settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city of Jerusalem, according to a Petra news agency report on Monday.
The settlers were protected by the Israeli police, said Jerusalem’s Islamic Endowments Department in a statement. The settlers began entering the compound early on Monday morning from the Mughrabi Gate and moved into the eastern and northern courtyards.
There were many more settlers on Monday and additional Israeli police were deployed in the area, further heightening tensions, Petra reported witnesses as saying.
The police evacuated the square opposite the Al-Qibli prayer hall and the Dome of the Rock.
Worshipers entering the mosque for the dawn prayer were subjected to searches, and many were prevented from accessing the holy site.
The escalation in tension comes amid longstanding disputes over access to religious sites in Jerusalem, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Palestinian Authority and several international organizations have condemned the settlers’ actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that such behavior could result in violence and hamper peace efforts.
