Illegal Israeli settlers on Sunday stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem under police protection, amid Palestinian warnings of "Judaisation" plans.
Omar Rajoub, director of the Media Department at the Jerusalem Governorate, told Anadolu that "raising the Israeli flag inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, along with performing provocative rituals, is part of a systematic and deliberate official Israeli policy led by the extremist occupation government."
"These practices aim to impose new realities by force in occupied East Jerusalem and undermine the historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque," he added.
He warned that "settler's actions inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque are part of an ongoing colonial plan targeting the spatial and temporal division of the mosque, the Judaisation of the city to obliterate its religious and historical identity, and the alteration of its legal, cultural, and demographic character."
Rajoub said the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by illegal settlers under police protection is "a clear violation of international law" and hurts the feelings of Palestinians and millions of believers around the world."
He warned of the repercussions of these violations, describing them as "serious, repeated, and unacceptable," and held "the Israeli government fully responsible for this dangerous escalation."
He also called on "the international community and all countries to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and take immediate action to stop these ongoing violations against the Palestinian people and the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem."
He emphasised that "the entire 144-dunam area of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims."
Since 2003, Israeli police have unilaterally allowed the illegal settlers to enter the mosque daily during two periods—morning and afternoon prayers—except on Fridays and Saturdays.
Palestinians say Israel is intensifying efforts to Judaise East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.
The Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognise Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1980.
